Why Bloodborne's first boss is one of its best
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Gascoigne is probably my favorite first boss in the series, and part of why I adore Bloodborne so much. Developing a good boss is a lot more than just difficulty, Gascoigne doesn't need to be the most challenging fight in the game to be one of the best, his fight was meticulously crafted for his role.
Song used: The Hunter - Bloodborne OST
Admittedly, the Cleric Beast is also pretty iconic, having served as the face of Bloodborne in a lot of the advertising, but cut content suggests it was originally going to be fought later in the game. Because it was repurposed from being a later boss fight, along with it being an optional boss, it doesn't quite represent the same thing Gascoigne does.
Hola
I was going to question this video’s implication but this comment explains and justifies it extremely well. Thank you for this.
Cleric Beast: *sad reee noises*
Welcome back! Hope you a good time off of youtube! 😊
Hey Zullie!!! Glad to see you back. So hyped to see your Elden Ring vids once it gets released :)
There's a neat little trick to gascoinge too; when he is human you're conditioned to dodge backwards because most of his attacks are wide but not long, when he turns to beast his atacks extend further at the cost of width, punishing you for running away, having you adapt on the fly to go against what the boss himself conditioned you to do.
Plus, when he is a beast, if you dodge backward after a jumping attack of his (not the huge leap), then he can repeat it again and again, effectively locking you until you dodge forwards. Found it the hard way...
@@kamprouristheoharis8458 Same bro, I feel your pain
Noobs
Try R2 maybe you get suprised
Dodging back is how you get shot. I have no idea how you came up with this but youre just wrong
I appreciate the weight of him. Every attack is just so HEAVY, then he turns into a werewolf and it’s like you’re fighting an oncoming train or a literal force of nature. Incredible.
The music really reinforces that- it's got that "machine surging out of control" energy.
@@halkiierid4084 interesting observation never thought of that
Not sure what you're talking about. I play a little music box 4 times to freely savage him and then finish the last bit of health off with moltovs.
@@synnical77 But that's the boring way
Her comes the pain train
A little fun fact about Gascoigne, which you can see at 0:25 : he has too many teeth!
Normal humans have 4 teeth between their canines, (the pointy ones at the top) but he has 2 extra, which can already show you he's not quite human anymore.
no idea if it exists but this feels like a r/foundthedentist moment
I had to check how many teeths i have
Gascoigne had just too much milk as a child.
These couple extra teeth must be milk teeth which he has until this day.
Just like Freddy Mercury
"There were giants on the earth in those days and also after that.."
The best part of Gascoigne fight is that it's mirrored later by the fight with Gehrman.
A duel with another hunter is one of the first bosses, and one of the last. And both test how well you've learned the game's mechanics.
It's more likely that Gascoigne makes sure you will be prepared to what's coming next and Gehrman checks if all your lessons you have come through didn't go to waste.
@@timgrayson3130 yup checks out 👍👍
@@timgrayson3130 the lesson, just parry
@@BootyMcHallaghan kind of parry, the second lesson is staying the fuck away is not always the same good option like it was before
I got Gehrman to 10% on my first attempt, then didn't even get him to 50% the next 20 or so attempts. Thought that was some sort of intentional design, but maybe I just got really lucky first time.
I also really love how he says "forgive me" right before he dies! For a first boss, he is truly memorable and iconic.
Agreed. Honestly makes him more tragic, but I like that detail.
Zanzibart
The music box is one of the best aspects of the fight.
Something that Fromsoft does is give the player an item that can greatly help them against an early boss. Like the gold pine resin before the Taurus Demon, a few firebombs before Gundyr, and the snapseeds before Lady Butterfly. The problem with these is that they are consumable items that you don't get back after you die, thus discouraging new players from trying to use them which defeats the purpose of the items to begin with, which is to help new players. The music box achieves what these consumable items try to achieve, it helps new players while also only being able to be used a limited amount of times through the fight.
It also adds some foreshadowing for Mergo and gives lore lovers something to chew on
I also love the little 'secret' that if you use the music box a bunch while he's in human form he'll transform early, having lost what little sanity he had left through grief.
Agree. I very rarely use consumables because I may need them later. And then I beat the game and never used it...
Margit will have a similar item (it has been shown in videos posted in yt about the datamined stuff)
If you play the music box after the wet nurse fight Mergo giggles. So totally worth getting.
I remember the first time I beat him, the absolute euphoria of it. He was brutal as someone with little to no Souls experience, but after beating him I knew I wanted more.
Cheers Gascoigne, for starting my FromSoft addiction.
I had a similar experience.
Started Dark Souls 2, my first ever From Software game (and my first Souls-like experience), dropped it within a week.
Started DS3, dropped it in 3 days.
Started Bloodborne, dropped it in 2 days, at Gascoigne, funnily enough.
Started Nioh, dropped it that same day.
I had completely given these games up... until I played The Surge. I beat it in a month. It was painful, but I persevered.
Afterwards, I returned to DS2, beat it.
DS3, beat it. The Surge 2, beat it. Nioh... is a work in progress. Bloodborne, beat it. Dark Souls Remastered, beat it. Mortal Shell, beat it. Sekiro, beat it.
From Soft games are a really odd set of specimens. They went from bs games I would never beat, to my favorite game series ever next to Yakuza, with Sekiro reigning as my favorite and Bloodborne riding Sekiro's tail.
Margit would like a word
I remember coming across Gascoigne's summon sign and taking on Cleric Beast together, it was a very heart wrenching moment to meet him at the graves shortly after almost as if I had a hand in him becoming beast and suddenly turning on me.
I wonder if that wasn't intentional by From: Set up Cleric Beast so that you would be naturally inclined to run right into it, have Gascoigne be summonable for exactly that fight, and then _oops, we triggered him, well shucks_
I thought you had to beat gascoigne to summon him into the cleric fight...
Or is it just that you need a madman's knowledge?
@@MrHeorhe You just need the knowledge, you can even summon Gascoigne and run all the way to the bridge with the flaming Boulder and that's about where he returns to his world.
I never knew you Can summon someone for cleric beast
@@Morpheus2403 Most people don't have any Insight until after seeing specific a boss, 1 insight for seeing the Cleric Beast, 1 for Gascoigne human form and 1 for beast form. One Madman's knowledge can be acquired in the sewer with the boats and rats (beneath Eileen's first location) and another just before the statue wielding Troll where the Crows are
Imo the build up to both bosses leave you oblivious to the idea, and pushes you through without any assistance. I think most players find out about cooperative summoning when they arrive at Byrgenwerth where they can summon the Mensis Scholar. (Shadows of Yharnam summon is sometimes missed if you haven't killed Henryk or equipped the rune for Younger Madaras Twin)
I also would like to point out that Gascoingne’s beastly transformation also goes to show the risk/reward of beasthood that the player can even experience for themselves. Gascoingne becomes much more aggressive, powerful and threatening, but he also becomes much more open to counter attacks and arguably even more vulnerable to ripostes than his human form. This is mirrored by the player’s potential use of beastblood pellets - they allow the player to wail on enemies and bosses and do tremendous amounts of damage, truly becoming a force to be reckoned with. And yet, the damage the player takes also increases the more the beasthood gauge fills. Beasthood can let you utterly destroy your greatest enemies, but it may come at a cost.
gascoingne
I actually never ever utilized the beast hood pellets. I should do another playthrough and give them a shot
@@sinjin8576 You should, they shred through big bosses. You can level up the bar of the pellets easily by using the transformation combo of your trick weapon.
I didn't even know you could riposte him in beast form. Never worked when I tried it.
Pellets make you take more damage?? I never realised that
When we needed her most, she returned!
Just like the Giantdad, legends never die.
Praise!
How you know they are a women
I just give you a the 420th like, nice
@@gamernation1400 Does it matter? Assuming we live in the real world, they probably weren't forced to go by a female identity online. Either they're a woman, or they're a man who doesn't care if people assume otherwise.
Years later my heart still pumps when I walk into his bossroom, even after finishing Bloodborne like 10 times. Such a freaking solid character and boss, and these extra layers are just icing on the cake
Yepp until this day, i feels like "sh*t this boss again..." Everytime i arrive at his boss room 😂
fun fact: "all over the shop" is an irish saying, and couple that with his clearly irish accent, he's almost definitely from the bloodborne equivalent of ireland
Gascoigne is from Galway confirmed
That reveal a frightening fact, way more terrible than the beasts or the great ones, yharnam is indeed in Br*tain🤮
@@angelnolascocalderon5038
1) thought this was obvious already
2) ireland isn't in britain, although northern ireland is
northern ireland is not in britain, it is in the united kingdom. britain is the island.
@@oaryihn5659 obviusly but I'm referimg to the fact that yharnam must be near to Ireland.
I also like how he almost teaches you how you should be fighting in his hunter form, its almost like a mirror of what you'll become by the end game, a ruthless hunter that continuously pushes forward and dashes around attack, spraying bullets, and parrying, and switching your weapon around using its full moveset instead of relying on just r1's like in other souls games
The arena in this fight is probably one of the best in the series. At first I hated it because of all the clutter but looking back on it it's probably the most realistic arena in From's games considering a lot of other bosses seem to have arenas designed around them. This one feels so great because it really does feel like you stumble onto to him in a graveyard clinging to the last bit of sanity he has left.
Also good to have you back Zullie, I've missed these videos.
As an arena that feels cluttered and claustrophobic while still giving the player plenty of space to maneuver as long as they stay aware of their surroundings, it's definitely one of From's best
This arena is a close second after Gael for me
Idk I always ran up the stairs
It's more fair when neither of us can get stuck on something
Unfortunately From's garbage AI makes it way too easy to cheese him via gravestones. That's why they use almost exclusively open arenas for bosses. Their AI pathfinding is always godawful. It's especially glaring when compared to Nioh, which doesn't have great AI either but still puts From's shame.
@@djx7134 Bloodborne is an almost perfect game, but yes, enemy's AI is very limited
I also love that Gascoigne, the first mandatory boss of the base game, and Ludwig, the first boss of the dlc both have probably the best soundtracks in the game. To add on even further, I love the two fights because they both totally mirror each other. Gascoigne goes from an insane man to a bloodthirsty beast, while Ludwig goes from a horrific monster to an almost elegant hunter.
I remember my friend telling me about this boss before i got to playing the game and he just said "he teaches you how to play the game" which i think was quite accurate
Yup, he's taught numerous people to stop playing the game altogether.
@@synnical77 Well, their loss for not learning the lessons this boss teaches
@@coestar100 They learned the lesson that this boss teaches. It's to not allow your dopamine receptors get addicted to the constant hits for the Dark Souls cycle and use that free time an effort to improve your social skills, personal health skills, and lifelong trades and work skills.
@@synnical77 Ah, might aswell never commit to watching TV either with that outlook, games are fun for passing the time and the souls games difficulty are massively overstated, in the grand scheme of things they don't take long to 100% or are either anywhere near the hardest games out there
@@synnical77 having dumb fun and working on tangible skills is not mutually exclusive. My dad is a fucking champ, he graduated as a civil engineer and made sure I could have everything I could need and more. He worked his ass of in college and high school yet never once did he dissuade me from having dumb fun. After all to him going to arcades and playing the games there was something he did whenever he could spare the time because, and this might blow your mind, it was FUN. People aren’t machines. We need ways to detox from stress and a lot of challenges that life presents.
My God, the music for Gascoigne's fight is SO DAMN GOOD. When that beast phase kicks in, it's like the music is synced to your heartbeat.
Something interesting, if you look at the unlock % for trophies in Bloodborne, the most common trophy is for killing the first optional boss, the Cleric Beast, with a 48.3% completion rating. The first actual boss, Father Gascoigne, has a 45.3% completion rating.
BUT!
The completion for obtaining a "blood gem" to augment your weapons, the earliest available is found in the arena you fight Gascoigne, is 47.3%
So 2% of players couldnt beat the first required boss, but saw the item hiding in the back of the arena, said "I wonder what that is", picked it up DURING THE FIGHT, and used it to get an upgrade material they couldnt even use until they beat that boss, which they never did
I think the executioner near the shortcut to yosefkas clinic drops blood gems. Could be wrong tho.
@@esa8871 I looked into it, you are correct it is a rare drop (1%). Id still have to speculate that most players who couldnt beat Gascoigne probably didnt farm the executioner for an item that was useless to them, but there is definitely a possibility some just got lucky and didnt continue
I personally got the achievement from the axe guy back in like 2017 when i first played, unaware at what i had found, and rage quit after not being able to beat gascoigne lol.
Came back to it in 2021, and platinum’d it
@@quailsinspace that percent seems low, but I mean I might just be very lucky. I get the blood gem a little less than half the time. I also spent time practicing backstabs and parries on the executioner; backstabs especially he's great for learning that mechanic.
@@quailsinspace wait it's a 1%???? i literally got it first try and then thought "oh cool what a nice reward for killing him!"
Gascoigne has always been one of my favorite characters in any Souls game, and you explained it better than I ever could.
The soundtrack also serves to introduce you to the pacing change in the fight. As Gascoigne transforms, the music's pace picks up, and drums are introduced as well. This ramp up in tension and pace is reflected in his fighting style, where he now gives you a much shorter time between attacks, which in turn translates to a much shorter time to recover after being hit.
I'm sure someone who's more versed in the technical aspects of musical composition could expand upon this, if anyone like that reads this I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I am very much not a musical composition guy, but another game I know of where music ramping up is a key part is Haunting Ground: you play as a character who can only barely fight (her weapons are a dog and her ability to kick people, versus a giant, a psycho maid with a beating stick who can't feel pain, a dude with a gun, and a man who has done wicked alchemy to himself in a bid for immortality), so the main point of the game is to dodge the enemies. When they're nearby, their themesongs start playing, real slow and menacing-like. The minute they spot you and start to give chase, the theme kicks all the way in and speeds up dramatically, becoming this bombastic cacophony of noise for you to contend with while you're trying not to die (and I do mean "noise." One themesong is a creepy violin sound, one is mechanical noises and vaguely feminine chanting, one is what I imagine an entire marching band being murdered to sound like, and I forgot what the last one was, unfortunately).
Eventually, you get into "boss fights" against them all, which are really more like puzzle fights because, again, Fiona can barely fight back at all, and the themesongs all get a kicking drum beat and slight remixing to demonstrate that, no, there's no running this time, it's time to put up your dukes.
You learn to really _hate_ hearing that game's soundtrack, if not out of fear, than because you have to deal with these assholes _again._ The fact that it grates on the ears also helps, I imagine.
8 bit music theory has some videos about Dark Souls, I believe. In general he has good videos covering composition in video game music. I think there is a video about boss themes, too. Highly recommend.
There's this bald guy's UA-cam channel called Atlas, he's a composer who blindly (he's not much of a gamer but has just started with the Soulsborne) reacts to anime and video game music scores. He has a video reaction for Gascoigne's theme and he perfectly explains what you mean.
You should definitely check out his channel, he has many reaction videos to many Soulsborne, video games in general and anime songs
This is shockingly accurate to the (probable) intended decisions behind Soulsborne music,
Weirdly enough every Fromsoft boss works almost in time with their themes in a sort of rhythm game way (not directly but the music actually helps with boss pattern timings most of the time), the biggest indication of which the Dancer of the Boreal valley actually fights in 3/4 (used in waltz) along with her music, now in 3/4 giving an indication to her pattern, when most bosses throughout the series utelize a 4/4 rhythm to their attack beats (E.g. Swipe, Swipe, Swipe, Animation wind down)
Gascoin's theme ramping up speed along with his intensity really does indicate his actions. Intentional or not it's there.
To this day, this boss is one of the most intense to me, mainly because of the soundtrack and what you explained above.
She's back!!!!! And what a great video, with a great point, to come back to. Absolutely agree. The one thing you didn't mention is that (at least in my experience) Gascoigne also teaches the player to not only dodge backwards, but sideways as well. He punishes simple backwards dodging a lot, but dodge to the side of him and he becomes much easier!
Yeah in human form his gunshots will catch you out rolling backwards, and the constant forward momentum in his beast form caused me to die super fast aa ai dodged backwards and watched a barreling werewolf shred my health bar, forcing me to think about what I was doing
I stumbled into this room blind for my first insight point after getting ambushed by the yharnamites outside. Utterly destroyed me continually until the themes dawned on me and I started trying to mimic his fighting style, assuming he was what a hunter ‘should’ fight like. It helped with the mirror that I happened to pick his exact loadout at the start. Amazing early game hurdle
Also, since he is the first real roadblock to delve deeper in to the game, his musical theme is chosen perfectly. Unlike all of the other boss themes in Bloodborne, his theme is simply titled "The Hunter". This boss fight is the game seeing if you've embraced its playstyle; to see if you've become a hunter yourself. This boss theme is as much the player's theme as it is Father Gascoigne's.
He was the first boss I ever faced in a From Software game. I had no idea how to fight him and died tons because I assumed Bloodborne was meant to be played "defencively" like what I heard about Dark Souls, but nonetheless I'm glad he was my first time. And that theme music? Exceptional.
It was the same for me, but with cleric beast. I didn't even know what from software was at the time, I just saw this cool game for 10 bucks at game stop, but I had an idea because while paying, the cashier looked me with one eye and whispered: " Are you really sure you want to play this?"
...defensively? Are you saying that I shouldn't have gone through the several games with a naked character swinging a Great Club at everything that moves?
He was technically my 2nd, but yes Gascoigne despite being one of the first bosses, he really sets the tone for the rest of the game what to be expecting
*love* that music. So intense!
@@DawidKov I mean, it's hardly the gentlemanly thing to do
Gascoigne has one of the most underrated music, it fits the fight progression so damn well and is extremely menacing. His lore is excellent too.
Father Broscoigne is my favorite opening boss of any from game by a landslide. The build up between him being a summon to help you with cleric beast, to meeting and understanding his family's plight. By the time I fought him for the first time and I realized what had happened, I legit felt like I had to put down a dear friend.
Yep and he's essentially a drop in the pond compared to the rest of the game yet he's very compelling
Not to mention how in Eileen's questline, you return to that graveyard to find Gascoigne's former hunting partner (I believe), Henryk. There's a story behind that, too.
This is my favorite FromSoft boss of all time, there’s just something about a bad ass hero type losing control and succumbing to the very thing he is fighting, and realizing he has nothing left to lose anymore.
As you said, it’s a cautionary tale warning you about what happens to even great men in this world.
Welcome back Zullie! Just in time for an Bloodborne craving.
Aw, Darcy! Were you injecting yourself with the Old Blood again?!
I love these short design analyses you occasionally do, they're really useful lessons for up and coming devs.
By the absolute skin of my teeth, I beat him my first try. I was doing a Skill/Strength build so my Visceral Attacks took almost 1/3rd of his health. The last phase had me miss my parries and only on my 3rd tried in the 3rd phase did I get him.
By the end I had 3 vials left, my heart was pounding and I needed a minute. It was one of the most profoundly triumphant victories I ever had in a game.
It was a masterful boss fight for new players.
Bloodborne sure knows how to get that heart rate up
A truely memorable fight. And my first real soulsborne test. As I hadn't played literally any other hard games till I got bloodborne on a black friday sale. Somehow against all odds. I BEAT HIM FIRST TRY! That was the moment. I knew I was gonna love this game and others like it. That rush from overcoming such a difficult enemy. Was a thrill gaming hadn't given me in a LONG time.
Very first time he killed me was by kicking me through the tombstones, was an amazing Introduction.
The clips of your fight(s) against Gascoigne were really well used here, they went really well with the commentary and the music build-up. Rest assured, the effort put into that sort of stuff is always appreciated!
Guess who's back, back again
Zullie's back, tell your friends
I really like this channel because it's interesting and cool Darksouls/Bloodborne stuff that _isn't_ over an hour long.
She's back!
Great having you back Zullie, I hope you got some well deserved rest!
And I love the fact that the test Gascoigne, the first hunter boss, puts you through to test your abilities are the same principles Gerhman, the last hunter boss, tests your mastery of.
I only just put it together that Gascoigne blindfolded himself, which goes against everyone else in the story wanting to get all of the eyeballs
Not quite, there's tons of characters with blindfolds, including those looking to get eyeballs (Willem, the Choir set, etc).
Looooads of characters in Bloodborne and the headpieces of a lot of armour involve blindfolds of some sort. It's a big theme throughout the game.
An excess of eyes is associated with ascension into the realm of the Great Ones and transformation into a Kin- an expansion of consciousness and dissolution of the grotesque body and its frailties (notice how many Kin have ectoplasmic, almost slug-like bodies). Beasthood is a regression away from this higher state of being- not merely a failed attempt at ascension but a fall from humanity into an atavistic state of feral instinct and ignorance of the cosmos. Bloodborne illustrates these states as being opposites by having many of the characters connected with Beasthood be blinded- either through blindfolds or having their eyes gouged out.
@Kaspider I'd always seen it as brain parasites for The eyes. The madman's knowledge is a skull with slug like things. Accused Brew is a skull hunters carved open looking inside. Kos was Said to have parasites if I recall
@@reapercometh Made me wonder - maybe the Brainsuckers are villagers who were experimented on, and they had the parasites planted in their heads? Zullie has a vid on it... need to rewatch.
I remember the first time I fought Father Gascoigne back in 2015. He’s that memorable of a boss.
Gascoigne is also instrumental in getting you acclimated to Bloodborne's speedy combat in the midst of it's funky-ass framerate.
It is absolutely criminal that Sony refuse to release a 60 FPS patch on PS5. I don't want to have to play a theoretical remaster by Bluepoint just for a fluid version of this game (i don't think their method of remaking games would work at all with Bloodborne's style)
Ain't nothing like 22-25FPS average when anything is in motion, with intense motion blur and the most distracting and misused Chromatic Aberration you've ever seen, I tell you h'what! It's the will of the old gods
@@cacomeat7385 Bluepoint would absolutely destroy the atmosphere, music and environment/character/enemy design of Bloodborne, for real. Either way, it shouldn't be too hard for Sony/FROM to make a patch for the game unless they did the stupid thing of tying game logic to framerate (*again*) but they probably did, which would necessitate decoupling a ton of stuff from it and adjusting a lot of logic, and don't feel the need to change it yet, or at least, not until they make the obvious move to port to Steam to 'solidify' their PC portfolio and to not affect PS5 sales of the game when they do port it over to it, or make a backwards compatibility upgrade of it.
Am I the only one who has never had any troubles cause of the framerate, the games always been perfectly fine for me
@@Valanway
While i strongly disagree with everything you said, because DeS Remake feels, sounds, looks and plays hundred times better than the original, you don't have to worry about it.
Bloodborne isn't that old, it would get a Remaster on the style of Shadow of The Colossus, a simple and yet detailed Remaster.
Your point about him being a good first boss really hits home. I love souls series now, but when I picked up the first game, I didn't understand the plunging attack on the Taurus Demon and got so frustrated I didn't touch the games again for years
Something you didn't mention : His part 2 is amazing in a way that he teaches you a very important thing : not to always roll/dash away from enemies, but rather to their sides or behind him. When Beast-Gascoigne stuns you, if you mash "roll" with the joystick downward, there's a 100% chance he will strike you again and probably kill you. That teaches the player to try different things than what your instinct tells you too (panic-mashing roll away).......Mmmh... Inciting the player to resist the urge to fall for hiw own instincts... does that....""""ring a bell""" ?
cleverly put
ooooohhhh very insightful indeed 👍
she did mention it: he teaches you that you have to play agressively
I just got into bloodborne 7 years late so it’s nice to see that the fandom isn’t dead yet
I fought Cleric Beast first and i felt like a fucking boss after 1 shoting it.
Gascoigne put me back in my place.
The way the music picks up is just amazing, a perfect junction between gameplay, music and themes.
I really love this sort of analysis, its great for understanding the developer's intentions for all of the design elements that people may overlook for "teh lore".
The soundtrack is masterful along with everything you mentioned. Really fits the vibe of a ruthless hunter, the intensity of the violins/cellos and trumpet/tuba(not sure what the instruments are sorry lol) with Father G roaring and grunting makes the fight feel so sinister. Beast hunting isn’t graceful, it’s brutal and incredibly violent and the fight does a tremendous job and giving you that feel
Man this boss was great. He beat she shit out of me. Totally knocked me the fuck out. But it was fun
.. how?
@@TannuWannu Cause iirc that was my first soulsborne game ever. Started out with an amazing game to be my entry cause I haven't looked back since
Same here. He was my first major skill check. It took me about 10 tries to finally kill him and I had a blast doing it. I can't wait to see what kind of challenges Elden Ring will have
@@hybrid5860 I'm betting there's gonna be a Gyobu, and I am pumped for glorious horse duels
Zullie, your insight is always on point! (This is not a pun, I swear.) I have new respect for just how thoughtfully designed Gascoigne is both mechanically and narratively. The way you worded the music box being a "reward" for exploration kind of tied it all together:
I thought he was so punishing the first time we fought (BB being my first From game) because I didn't fully grasp what the game was trying to teach me. Rather than viewing it as a punishment however, it's more like a series of potential rewards. If you picked up on parrying and distancing you're rewarded with an easier hunter phase. If you picked up on dodging and rally, you're rewarded with an easier beast phase. If you picked up on world exploration (securing the music box) you're rewarded with an even easier beast phase. If you picked up on environmental awareness you're rewarded with healing reprieves in the hunter phase (tombstones) and beast phase (roof drop loop). And lastly if you picked up on the early themes of the game you're rewarded with tantalizing hints at the lore/world (as your observations showed -- Gascoigne's background, the fate of hunters, etc.).
It highlights the subtle but impactful distinction between design meant to punish failure and design meant to reward proficiency, an oft-misunderstood trademark of Miyazaki's directorial perspective.
Its good to have you back Zullie
Well welcome back Zullie we missed you and the insight you bring us.
Zullie the witch coming out of retirement like the old protagonist of a heist movie
This video was just plain fantastic. The heightened level of music was such a good touch
Gascoigne as a boss teached me everything I would need to know to finish the game: Phase changing, parrying if possible, close and agressive, playstyle adaptation.
I just adore his concept, thats why I roleplayed him so often. He truly is an antrisymmetrical reflection of the player
I still remember my heart beating at max rate with his blasting music on my ear phones and butt clenching hard to my chair and me running around that graveyard like little kid...
.
.
I never had that kind of experience with any other souls game . I really miss Bloodborne....
You are back *-* this is the best ending for a day
Also that music, it builds so well and makes the whole thing seem 100 times more hectic
The Cleric Beast will forever be etched in my mind. The intense music, the guttural screams and my own inexperience made me feel like I was in a horror film, fighting for my life against a murderous unknowable beast.
So glad to see you back!
THE RETURN OF THE QUEEN
The music for this fight always gets my heart racing.
In my first playthrough I didn't face the cleric beast and I didn't open the shortcuts (I didn't even knew those existed) I didn't had enough vials and I was feeling lost as hell, I was afraid to die at any moment loosing my blood echoes and my progress. When I first saw Gascoigne I felt safe untill he said "... you'll be one of them, sooner or later" I don't know how did I manage to beat him, but my heart was like crazy during the fight. That was my first 'souls' experience, I didn't knew what was dark souls nor bloodborne, I just bought it because I heard it had lovecraftian elements. I didn't watch trailers, videos, pictures... nothing, Father Gascoigne was my introduction to Bloodborne and the souls series. Great memories. :')
It didn’t even occur to me the January break was over! I graciously accept this gift of an upload, thank you
She has retuned, praise the great ones
Your videos popped up on my feed randomly and I was inspired to try Bloodborne, and I have to say as aggravating as it can be at times, it's quickly becoming one of my favorite games of all time
im so happy to see you again Zullie 😭
Gascoigne is my favorite fight in the franchise. Love his music, love his lore, love his arena, love his attacks, love the different strategies. It really feels like you're fighting another hunter, and then the game hits you with the beast form. I remember playing through the game for the first time and really having that "wow" moment. Just amazing
Happy to see you back!
Bloodborne is a masterpiece of a game, and every fight was memorable. Gascoigne always stood out to me for his story, and I agree he made a very memorable early fight (I've always done cleric first)
His boss theme also perfectly captures everything about the character and the situation. Starting off quiet but menacing, constantly building up until it explodes into the loud, heart-pounding phase two. It's like an adrenaline rush; the constant thumping percussion makes me think of hearing your own heartbeat in your ears, which works from both Gascoigne's and the player's point of view.
To me, it always seemed to pose the question: "Who is the hunter, and who is the hunted?" And the grim answer is, of course, "Both." And that is fucking awesome.
One tiny mechanical thing about Gascoigne that I haven't seen anyone talk about, but that I love, is how his attacks teach you the fundamentals of the game's combat.
My favorite instance of this is the leaping attack he does at 2:27
I'm fairly certain that move is specifically designed to catch players who panic roll after getting knocked down. On my first playthrough, it hit me EVERY TIME I did that. So I had to learn to time my dodges, and not succumb to panic and the urge to scramble.
Fantastic game, fantastic video
I always love how his model just sorta pops into frame after he’s done cutting the beast’s head
The music for this fight always sets me on edge. Having played all 3 souls games before getting a chance to play BB, he single handedly broke down hundreds of hours of conditioning to get me ready for the rest of the game.
Also, beautiful job syncing up the death to the end of the music.
Father Guacamole with the axe is so iconic. He's such a badass with that thing that it makes you want to do an axe run.
Perfectly said. Gascoigne is one of my favourite Soulsborne fights. I love how the quickening music and ramping intensity of the fight forces you to handle your fear and adrenaline. Everything about it is perfect.
I love the violins in the second phase of the fight. Perfect boss music
Such a great boss with so many levels. Scared the crap out of me the first time I stumbled into his arena. Another great video
The time off has served well. Great editing; I especially like the arc of the background track.
Welcome back, Zullie. You've been missed :)
So glad you are back. I know the design is amazing but what makes it for me is the soundtrack... A masterpiece in composition.
I'd say he's probably the best mandatory first boss in From's games. They really nailed it with him. Sekiro had some really good bosses that were skill checks as well.
He seems to te best introductory boss from the from software games.
Dark souls has either easy but badly telegraphed ones (asylum demon and the fact that you're supposed to run away from him) or a ridiculous spike in difficulty (Gundyr who's easily stronger than every boss after him up to abyss watchers fight). Sekiro has one that's just too easy (I'm counting Gyoubu as first), from my knowledge only Bloodborne got this right.
Hopefully it'll transition to Elden ring.
Idunno, man, Gyoubu's epic screaming of HIS NAAAAAAAME pretty much stunlocked me as a player for much of his battle...
Gyoubu beat the crap outta me. Several times. Well, everyone in Sekiro, now that I think about it.
@@freddogrosso9835 Seriously? Then maybe I had a good strategy against him, it surely wasn't the case of being that "gud" since I got my ass kicked multiple times by later bosses.
@@Chodor101 Typically when I wind up beating a boss that everybody else struggles with, it's because I flailed aggressively at it and just got lucky. I no thoughts, head empty my way to victory. This only ever works once, sadly.
One thing I liked was how using the music box when he is summoned makes him laugh pretty nice detail.
Cleric Beast is first boss for me. It will always be.
Glad you're back, your content is so unique.
Very worth the wait. Hope your feeling at least a little better with the break!! Keep getting better before jumping back in!
I really enjoyed the editing of this video. Gascoigne's music is one of the best songs in the game, and this video was timed out with the phases really well.
Glad your back Zullie
One of my favorites from the music, fight, back story, gimmicks, everything's great.
Every time I start a new character I try to at least get past Gascoigne without dying or visiting Hunter's Dream, and every time I still get nervous and freeze up.
I love Gascoigne. Not only is he such a greatly impactful first boss, but if you look around you've already got a "person" vibe for him, even that early, which I love.
There's way too many things about his character that I love, to list, but I always get a boost of serotonin when he's mentioned or I see someone doing a playthrough and face him for the first time. As much as I am fond of many other characters in this game, Gascoigne is special.
And to top it all off, with such a great tragic background story, makes him a well rounded amazing character.
I love the Gascoigne opening cutscene for many reasons, but my favorite is how the shadow cast by his nose makes it look like its been carved out and left with a gaping hole not dissimilar from the hole of the nose on our skulls, couple it with his exposed teeth and his face briefly looks like a skull whose skin is starting to rot away
Great to have you back Zullie. Hope you got some rest.
Thank you for coming back!
Gascoigne was always difficult for me. Even after beating the game and starting a new one I thought, “oh Gascoigne will be easy now” - but nope, he was still a struggle and I needed to call for help.
I really appreciate you pointing out how smart his design is. I sort of made the connection before to how he relates to the player story wise but it didn’t quite hit as hard just how much. I’ll never get over just how detailed and subtle these games are with their story.
Welcome back, hope you had a good break and enjoyed getting the footage for this video. Gascoine is easily my favourite boss in Bloodborne
The score is the best part in this fight. The shrill punctuation of the strings brings to mind the imagery of the beast slaying trick weapons sawing back and forth through flesh. But also the wrenching tug-o-war Gascoigne must be experiencing being pulled between his humanity and beasthood.
Great take, welcome back Zullie!
So many parallels to the first boss in dark souls 3, including the theme of the reflection of the player, and the transformation
When i first got to Gascoigne, i beat him first try because my parry game was on point. After playing the game for months, you’d think that amazing skill would have stayed right? Well, guess who i can’t parry anymore. Same with Maria. Beat her first try on my first playthrough, but now she wipes the floor with me. These bosses are still some of my favourites though. Bloodborne is my favourite soulsgame i think