Dad: Young hollow, there are but two paths. Inherit the order of this world, or destroy it. But only a true monarch can make such a choice. Very few, indeed, have come even this far. And yet, your journey is far from over. Half-grown hollow, have you what it takes, truly?
Son: "Life is brilliant. Beautiful. It enchants us, to the point of obsession. Some are true to their purpose, though they are but shells, flesh and mind. One man lost his own body, but lingered on, as a head. Others chase the charms of love, however elusive. What is it that drives you? Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark, and all that stemmed from humanity. And men assumed a fleeting form. These are the roots of our world. Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite… A lie will remain a lie. Young Hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?"
@@DytoxPrime he knew too well, we know from the ringed city that he tricked the pigmies branding them with a cirle of fire and starting the curse. he had frampt as his advisor, there are no beings in the dark souls world who have more knowledge than a primordial serpent such he his. gwyn has been selfish killing all the dragons because that was the course of nature, but refused to accept that he was going to have the same fate, humanity and the Dark were the future for nature's will. also we know that humanity helped the god in the fight against the dragons and he decided to make everyone forget about it, even humans are not aware of that. humans were meant to be the ruler of the world and as humans coexisted with the gods, they could have done the same. he wasn't frightend by the Dark he just did want to keep himself and his family on the top of the world.
Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark, and all that stemmed from humanity. And men assumed a fleeting form. These are the roots of our world. Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite... A lie will remain a lie.
I love Aldia so much. Such an amazing character. Have you seen Silver Mont's video about Dark Souls 3's story? He explains how Aldia set the events of that game in motion, and it's really cool
I like how, in contrast to themes like Gwyn or Sif's, this isn't directly "sad" it feels almost...desolate. If Gwyn's theme sounded like the mourning of a tragedy, Aldia's feels like a man coming to the realization that his entire life was completely pointless.
@@wiseguy240Winston the realization that the flame was a lie and that the cursed state called hollow is your true nature, if you link the flame your perpetrate the enslavement of your own kind, if you end the flame you turn them all into monsters, the third choice aldia wanted was a way of be free from the flame without losing all that humanity is in the process, that is why he studied dragons and committed so many horrible experiments, aldia was so desperate that he even went as far as turning himself into a burning tree head but after you prove yourself he and vendrick give your the perfected version hence you gain the ability to stop hollowing while wearing the crown, problem is that cannot be replicated for the whole of humanity and so you musk seek power and the rest will follow forever bound to seek a miracle where light and dark exist simultaneously but without intermingling and leading to the end of disparity, as much as other people hate it ds2 i loved that end much more than the end of ds3 its dark but also hopeful even if it feels like vain hope
@@wiseguy240Winston life itself is the curse. the illusion of life. the true state of humanity is to be dead - not dead as in 'cool magical zombies with armor' but dead dead. nothingness.
And the Soul of Cinder theme has the triumphant first part followed the tragic Gwen theme, symbolizing how in spite of all our efforts and the efforts of those before us to bring about a grand resurgence, it’s all for naught.
It should be noted that Gwyn, while indeed being the literal personification of "Local Man Ruins Everything", didn't ruin the worst stuff on purpose. He had no idea just how long-lasting and consequential his actions would be.
joshua kim Gwyn wanted his age to last forever. Yes, he knew how long his actions would plague the world very well. Probably hoped they would plague the world for longer
+neuralshock7 Yeah, people sometimes get mad at how it could be easy (for those good at parrying at least) but the whole point of the fight is how you're ending the journy of an old hollowing man whom you're succeeding, he's well past his glory and is now nothing but an empty shell of what he used to be, I especially like Souls series' tendency to fill the ost with battle music and epic stuff, then have the climax a melancholic music piece that makes you remember your journy, and the memorable time you had with the game's world, or at least what's left of that world, I felt really sad about how it was all over, I wanted to delve into the world more, but here we stand, at the deepest depths of the world, the time for it to end, and what a better place for the journy to end than the place where it all started, The Kiln of the First Flame/The Throne of Want
@@Er404ChannelNotFound only, that it will probably never truly end, since gwyn messed up the cycle of nature to such an extend, that fleeing to a world painted with the pigment of the dark soul may be the only possible way to obtain salvation and break the curse (or not)
There is no path. Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark... ...what could possibly await us? And yet, we seek it, insatiably... Such is our fate.
@@Ryuxun yeah in ds1 they straight up tell you the lore over and over throughout the game, making the whole thing pretty underwhelming and less satisfying than ds2.
Dark Souls 1: Fight an old man with sad music Dark Souls 2 Vanilla: No fight with an old man with sad music Dark Souls 2 SOTFS: Fight an old man with sad music Dark Souls 3: Fight an old man with sad music Bloodborne: Fight an old man with sad music.
Elden Ring : Fight an old man with sad music SPOILER ELDEN RING FINAL BOSS Well, i was wrong Fighting a God with the epic menu theme Then Fighting an Elden Beast with light calm music.
I really hope the boss gets better in the Remaster. I mean, they said the result was not what they wanted, so it would be sensible. On the other hand, be it with the games themselves or the various bugs, when is FROM being sensible?
To be fair, I died four or five times. But it never frustrated me because it's the only boss where progress is saved when you die. It's a little annoying to have a boss kill you in one hit, but you can one-shot the boss, too. So the playing field is even.
I always link the fire in DS1, because in my headcanon, the chosen undead linked the fire. I don't know if DS2 and DS3 would be the way they are if the flame wasn't linked. In my head, Frampt managed to make the chosen undead link the fire, because finding kaathe is way too specific, and I believe most of us followed Kingseeker Frampt's hints of where to go. Also, if the flame had died out in DS1, how would we actually have DS3? "A lie. But I knew no better." -Vendrick, Ruler of Drangleic
All men trust fully the illusion of life: but is this so wrong? A construction, a facade, and yet a world full of warmth and resplendence. Are you intent on shattering the yoke, spoiling this wonderful falsehood?
No, because life is no falsehood, and it is not an illusion. Life and light are a part of our world, but it was the sins of those who came before most of us, who called upon cursed power, masquerading as gods with the intent of dominating us from a misguided understanding of how Light and Dark work, that are deserving of punishment. Light and Dark do not rely upon one another. They do not exist in harmony nor loop in an endless cycle. Darkness is the absence of Light, and even when the cursed fire fades from this world, True Light will one day be restored to the world, chasing away The Darkness entirely.
@@magnanimousmartyr421 they are intertwined tho because you can't have light without shadows. As you and the fire keeper in ds3 stated even if the age of dark takes over entirely there will one day be flickers that will create a new light. It is a big cycle that's the whole theme of dark souls. Life and light are connected to dark and death when they are tampered with from their natural state you get undeath the abyss chaos and all manner of unnatural things. It's yin and yang no matter how firmly one side takes hold the smallest flicker of the other is inherently part of it and will revive given time. They defy this cycle and in extension defy nature and receive their own punishments for it.
That’s the lie. Darkness was always around and humans were born from darkness. Humans don’t need light at all. Humans were brainwashed and forced to believe that they did. That’s why humans suffer from desires we never had at first, and assumed fleeting forms. When humans could literally be whatever we wanted through will.
When Manus snapped he became a giant monster. Aldia harnessed the curse, and ascended. However, he’s trapped within a cyclic universe. Watching his race doing pointless things. Humans are beyond and above all of that as humans are of the dark. Looking like a zombie doesn’t bother us. It bothered the fleeting gods how had fleeting powers. When the evangelists wanted to ascend in III they became the angels they envisioned themselves to be. They even harnessed light. As light is born from darkness. Darkness is eternal, but without light there is no meaning or purpose. Darkness is without shape/form. The thing is there was never any point in anything which is what Aldia tries to get you to see. Everything everyone did still amounted to nothing. We see this at the end of III against Gael. There’s nothing left. Beyond light and darkness is nothing. When one ascends they have no need for desires and the like. You simply exist for existence sake.
@@williamgallows8882 I like DS2 NPCs the most, Navlaan the assassin, the great Straid of Olaphis and the short brotherhood of blood psycho dude also the dwarfs (Bell Keepers) the Rat king is cool as hell, Vengarl the beheaded, Pate and Creighton DS2 has the best NPCs hands down
Sorry to break the illusion but matoi and Kita ( composers of all three souls games, demon souls) confirmed there are no real Latin words or phrases… they used a program to generate Latin sounding syllables… even the songs song by real choirs used this software. Only 2 songs In blood borne contained real Latin A quick google for their tweets proving this will confirm
The "First Sin" was sacrifice... If you investigate the stories of every notable character within the series you will see that they abandoned everything for a cause of some kind, regardless of the consequence. Gwyn sacrificed everything in order keep the Dark at bay. The Witch of Izalith sacrificed everything in an attempt recreate the First Flame. Seath sacrificed his own sanity in order to achieve immortality. Artorias sacrificed his shield that repels Dark in order to save his compatriot, Sif. Sif will sacrifice the established friendship with the Chosen Undead in order to uphold its own honor. Raime sacrificed his own position in order to pursuit his own path, rather than to walk in Vendrick's shadow. Nadalia sacrificed her very being in order to protect the Old Iron King's heirlooms. The Ivory King sacrificed everything in order to satiate the Old Chaos. Aldia sacrificed everything in an attempt to break the curse. The monarch sacrifices the entire world in order to find out what could possibly await beyond Light and Dark.
There's also the argument that the first sin is existence - life itself essentially - many in the game (and I think Straid has some line about living being the real curse or something) make reference to the curse of life being the curse of want. It somewhat relates to Aldias experiments on the nature of life and the curse itself.
Both are decent theories. I rather think of a third one. The first sin was to put up resistance against the natures path. - Gwyn's kindling. Connecting humanity, the Dark Soul to the flame to prevent the Age of Dark. Because if the flame fades, humans turn hollow, like all so called "gods" and humans were. As far as I got Aldia's words, the curse wouldn't exist, if Gwyn didn't feed pieces of the Dark soul to the first flame. He prevented the age of Dark by doing so and the only way to prevent the reconversion is to feed even more humanity to the flame. Kaathe's wanna-be-age-of-dark would just be another age of ancients. Probably his true intention. This is actually something I was thinking a lot about. Why is there no difference between the age of dark and the age of ancients? Just a lie of Kaathe? I think I figured it out - there is no age of dark. Not anymore. Until someone can reverse Gwyn's kindling. Same problem with the Witches Chaos Flame. A Flame that creates life, it cannot be stopped. Actually Eleum Loyce is the perfect place to keep it locked. Eternal fire against eternal ice.
Seph Imaru Aldia wants to break the cycle. If you didn't notice: he himself is already free from the cycle of light and dark. But he cannot end the cycle, even tho he tried it so very hard. He can only convince us, the cursed undead, not to continue with the cycle and usher in the new age. Age that we cannot know for sure what it will be. Even Aldia doesnt know this (he only has 3 options: light or dark and after dark the unknown). The stories about never ending cycles are very popular in japanese culture. Even in video games. In Dragons Dogma we broke the Cycle by killing ourself with the Gogsbane. In Dark Souls 2 we do the same by walking away from the Kiln and not becoming the "Dark Lord" either. Only way to the cycle continue is that another Undead is fooled to rekindle the first flame or become the new dark lord (and thus waiting for next usurper to light the flame / usher in the age of dark). We just walk away. We continue our life free of the shackles of the cycle, and if we have all the crowns we are also free of the curse of the undead. Aldia gets what he wants, and stays there watching over the Kiln and preventing other undeads to continue with the cycle. Sure, age of dark will come from the new ending. But since Aldia will try to prevent the cycle from continuing the age of Dark will end eventually and new age will come. It seems to me, that the current age of light is almost dead. All monarchs before us have fallen, the kingdoms in ruins. Only a few souls remain that haven't hollowed or been consumed by dark.
Early Crowd And the hollowing also continues. What's the point of the chosen undead to be the only sane thing left in the world (next to ghosts and Aldia)? There is no evidence, that the curse of humans loosing their humanity will stop if you do not rekindle the flame.
It seems, given my interpretation, the "First Sin" and "First Flame" may considered entirely synonymous, being one and the same. The advent of fire, and with it, disparity, sends the world into never ending turmoil (chaos would be a more appropriate term, seeing as that it is a term so often tied to fire in this series.) Aldia wishes to bring an end to this chaos, both light and dark, and let the world return to the gray waste it once was. There would be not happiness, sadness, pain or pleasure, perceptions of wealth or depravity, Aldia viewed these as illusions which mask the truth of what reality is. What that perception of reality is? It's hard to say, given Aldia is implied to have transcended beyond the state of anything recognizably human, something like a God of the Lovecraft mythos, the series may mean to imply that his attempting to divorce man of his more chaotic nature, so they may achieve the higher plane he has... I can't say for certain however, like all fans of the Dark Souls my perspective of the series is almost entirely speculative given what we get, any other thoughts?
"What is it that you want?" His question is the most valid of all. All you did in the previous game was just follow orders or requests because you had nothing else to do, but in DS2, someone actually gives you something that no else has given before: A choice. Not a choice between linking the fire or propagating the dark, but a choice of what you really want to do. And that shit stuck with me more than DS3, personally.
@@gigachad3487 I mean, Bearer Of The Curse's influence exists because he chose to not be a part of the cycle at all. Lucatiel's name is remembered, for example.
I wish like hell that when you fell down to demon prince arena in ringed city, instead of demon prince, the bonfire is there waiting for you, a redone version of this song started playing, and you heard the words “ah…no one has come this far…not for a very long while.” And then the bonfire explodes, and he rises up. “Young Ash…do you seek embers? The peace of Dark? Or something beyond? Let us have your answer.”
Let me place my own spin on this dialogue… “Ah, I have not seen one such as you. Never, in all of time. I have not spoken to anyone else, not in a very long time. You, ashen one, what is it that you seek? Does thou seek the embers of flame? Or the peaceful embrace of darkness? Or perhaps… an ancient strength, hidden away from long ago. Tell us your answer.” With after battle dialogue of “Many a kingdom has come and gone. But this is what happens to great kingdoms. Ashen one, tell me. What is there left to your purpose? You stumble without it, blindly searching for a goal. And yet, you were never given one. Young ash, do continue on this purposeless path. Perhaps your role in this dying world will be found.” And for a final dialogue, after defeating Gael, rising out of the ash in the arena… “Ah. So that was the purpose you had chosen. To collect the blood of the dark soul… Young ash, heed these final words, the last I shall ever speak. The cycle of light, and dark, ends here. With nothing but ash, and ruins of once great kingdoms. Amongst all this, that one man continued his path. He once fought against the ancient dragons, as naught but cannon fodder for the gods. But he outlasted those old lords, and those demons, borne of a futile hope. I have only one final question for you… ashen one… what good is such… a powerful thing… when there no one else… to use it over?” And as such, everything ends. Even Aldia.
Something I always wanted In the souls series. An actual answer and not some sort of "yes or no" question. Aldia out of every single souls character deserves an opportunity for such an open ended response.
Tbh, Aldia should’ve been in DS3. Him not even being mentioned as the one who escaped the cycle but was badly deformed during the process, doesn’t sit right with me.
@@ShatteredPedestal7 It is possible he was the one that influenced Lothric to not become Lord of Cinder, which in a domino effect can lead to the actualization of his "third option" (Lord of Hollows ending)
@@arealhumanbean3058Soul Stream in DS3 reads: Sorcery imparted by the first of the Scholars, when Lothric and the Grand Archives were but young. Fires a torrential volley of souls. The first of the Scholars doubted the linking of the fire, and was alleged to be a private mentor to the Royal Prince.
I lost everything, but remained here, patiently. The throne will certainly receive you. But the question remains... What do you want, truly? Light? Dark? Or something else entirely...''
When i listen to this theme, i can feel the deep pain of Aldia, his infinite wisdom and his horrible fate that makes him become this creature, this monster. His own curse for trying to break the Curse... I feel very bad for him 😩
@@Ayrayen Crimes? What are crimes in the Dark Souls series? There are no crimes, and maybe not even sins. Despite prayers, hexes and the alike working, it's a godless land. As TJD005 said, there are only sacrifices, cause and effect. And with some of those sacrifices comes curses.
@@Ayrayen I've thought that even though he committed a bunch of cruel experiments he was so desperate that he even sacrificed his own body and humanity. I'm not justifying him, just trying to understand the level of despair that he felt when he realized there was no exit from the curse.
"Life is brilliant. Beautiful. It enchants us, to the point of obsession. Some are true to their purpose, though they are but shells, flesh and mind...." "...What is it that drives you?" "Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark, and all that stemmed from humanity, and men assumed a fleeting form. These are the roots of our world; Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite... _A lie will remain a lie._" "[K]nowing this, do you still desire peace?" "[W]hat is a king? You, neither born with greatness, nor granted it by the fates - what is it that you seek? You cannot even say yourself. "How you grapple, without falter, with this dreadfully twisted world. Peace grants men the illusion of life; Shackled by falsehoods, they yearn for love, unaware of its grand illusion. Until, the curse touches their flesh." "We are bound by this yoke. As true as the Dark that churns within men." "All men trust fully the illusion of life. But is this so wrong? A construction, a facade, and yet... A world full of warmth and resplendence. [A]re you intent on shattering the yoke, spoiling this wonderful falsehood? "I sought to shed the yoke of fate, but failed. Now, I only await an answer. Seek the throne. Seek light, Dark and what lies beyond... "Many monarchs have come and gone. Not one of them stood here, as you do now." "You, conqueror of adversities. Give us your answer." "I lost everything, but remained here, patiently. The throne will certainly receive you. But the question remains... "What do you want, truly? Light? Dark? Or something else entirely...? "There is no path. Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark... "...what could possibly await us?" "And yet, we seek it, insatiably..." *"Such is our fate."*
Brilliant dialogue. However, you seem to have forgotten (or it was intentional) one part of it. The line before his boss battle that goes: *"Many monarchs have come and gone. One drowned in poison, another succumbed to flame. Still another slumbers in a realm of ice. Not one of them stood here, as you do now. You, conqueror of adversities. Give us your answer."*
Considering how hit-or-miss the main game's score was, and how the real good music was almost exclusively in the DLC, this is amazing. Probably one of my favorites in the entire "Souls" series. I rank it up there with Maiden Astraea and Gehrman's theme. It just so perfectly encapsulates the character of Aldia, describing his loneliness and isolation, as well as the enormous sacrifices he made in a last-ditch attempt to un-fuck the world.
+The demon that comes when people call its name. Dark Souls 2 ost is better than dark souls 1 ost. Dark souls 1 ost is the weakest in the soulsborne series by far.
+Grissom Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, Artorias of the Abyss, Ornstein and Smough, Nameless Song, Firelink Shrine. I just named 5 tracks that are better than Dark Souls II's OST completely. II's only high moments in it's OST are this and Sir Alonne.
+The demon that comes when people call its name. The DkS2 main game had pretty good soundtrack no doubt. And the most varied in the entire series by far.
@@juliabailey9685 How about The Ivory King theme, Longing(credits ost), Departure, Vendrick's theme, Things betwix theme. Dark Souls 2 has other very good soundtracks, it's just a matter of looking for them and not just focusing on the best known. I answer you 4 years later but is better late than never, lol.
DS2 may not have the best gameplay, but the story and lore, especially after Scholar of the First Sin was released, is phenomenal. Confusing naturally, but it is what makes the game great. Base game was all about learning about King Vendrick and how he fell. Sotfc was all about learning the truth and choosing whether to seek out a different path, one entirely different from the path of light or dark, or embrace a lie. The Sunken Crown is difficult to figure out, but I believe it to be about blind devotion. The people of the city worshipped the dragon with no real reason as to why, at least we don't know exactly why. They could have been afraid, they could have believed it to be a blessing, anything really. The Drakeblood Knights blindly sought to spill the dragons blood to attain knowledge from said blood. Either way they both blindly devoted themselves to something they didn't understand, and in the end that got them both killed by the very thing they blindly worshipped/sought. Which may very well be a message about the Linking of the Fire and how little the characters of the world know about it, but still seek it out anyway. The Crown of the Iron King is all about seeing a man sacrifice and lose everything to become great, his land, his people, and his friend only to feel despair. To find that he has sacrificed and lost so much he has nothing left. All for power and pride. The Crown of the Ivory King is all about overcoming darkness within oneself, and sacrificing oneself for the sake of others out of goodwill. The Ivory King helped his queen break free from her dark nature to the point where she now stands alone to keep Chaos contained. The Ivory King himself, once he realzied he was getting weaker, plunged into Chaos with his knights to buy the world just a little more time simply because it was the right thing to do. As I said Dark Souls 2 may not have the best game mechanics, but the lore and stories, and the music, are well worth the hardships and frustration one will endure in the game.
@@ash_1419 it's pure shit . How they put 20 enemies in one room and think this is hard . It brought nothing but hate and 0 creativity . The story levels and lore was very good as he said
No joke him and the crowns were the only reason i did NG+, not because i wanted to but because i didn't fight vendrick before nashranda which meant i didn't get Aldia boss fight, I just finished the final DLC and got vendricks blessing today
these comments aged very badly. miyazaki defended dark souls 2,said it was a great game and carried the entire series,and by series he means all other fromsoftware games including the lastest title elden ring. there was never a thing wrong with dark souls 2.
@@RelaxingNostalgia nah bro, despite what (presumably) Miyazaki said, Dark souls 2 was an error. I mean, I love the game, but still it is really bad compared to DS 1 and DS 3
@@RelaxingNostalgia Most people say they hate Dark Souls 2 because it's the "B" team. Let them hate this. I love the Dark Souls II community way more than the overpolluted Elden Ring and other Souls games community.
I'm now absolutely convinced Dark Souls is, ultimately, a love story. The will to live, preserving through adversity... fundamental conditions of humans, but these are mere consequences of the ultimate sin. That sin, which compells us to proceed through a futile lie, is love.
It kind of depends upon your perspective with that. You more or less suppose your own motivations unto a character in a Dark Souls game, by that right, my character could very well have been entirely driven by hate and self loathing by his undead affliction, hoping to claim or abandon the throne, destroying any adversity in his way to spite the vile world around him, and attain some feeling of self once again. You could view that as analogy for what mankind is, proud in their prime, beastly in depravity, but always struggling for some form of identity in an abstract and ever uncertain world. But, again, your character is in the end, an entirely blank-faced avatar for yourself, you could try supposing an entirely different character unto him/her and gain a completely different perspective of the narrative, going that route.
Your thought could be well supported by the fact that your character has some faint memory of a woman and baby who could have most likely been related to you. Perhaps it's love for whoever they were that drives the main character to continue the journey.
JXZX1 Well yeah. That's the essence of tragedy. A lot of people think tragedies are about sadness and despair but they're not. Things like the Souls series, Berserk, Nier, and of course classics like Shakespeare, they're stories about love, passion, hope. If the tragedy itself is a giant barren wasteland, then the true focus of the story is the single flower growing from between the cracks in the ground.
Shinkada Lindwyrm I tend to agree. I'd argue, however, that Dark Souls (the first) did suffer from being a giant barren wasteland without any beautiful flowers at all. Its tone is exactly as the title describes: Dark.
JXZX1 That I'd argue. Gwyn's story is incredibly romantic, absolute sacrifice, giving his entire existence for the First Flame to burn away the Dark of Humanity's soul. If the Chosen Undead decides to relight the flame that's even moreso, he or she opts to follow Gwyn's footsteps even after seeing first hand the eventual effects. Solaire, Siegmeyer and Laurentius are studies in the concept, they're very basic characters with incredibly simple and undeveloped writing, they're not really helpful in any huge capacity, they barely actually do anything at all, and yet people love them just because they're not outright hostile. They're elevated by their surroundings. And, y'know. Everything to do with Artorias.
"In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control; even over his own will." - Void
The idea of "Beyond the scope of Light, beyond the reach of Dark" is something that really intrigues me. I feel like there has to be *something*, but we never find out what it is, exactly. Whatever it was, though, I like to think that it was incredibly consequential, unlike most other things that happen over the ages. The Bearer of the Curse and Aldia "destroy the order of the world", like he says, but I don't think they do that by just not linking the First Flame like so many would-be Dark Lords do. They do something with the power of the crowns, whether directly or just through avoiding Hollowing long enough to figure out what to do, but they do something that destroys "the order of this world" and seems to cause linking the Fire to not really work like it was supposed to anymore, hence why, by the time of DS3, linking the Fire hardly does anything anymore. All that said, I also feel that the End of Fire and not the Hollow Lord ending is the best one, since it seems to me that Vendrick pretty much tells you that Nashandra tried to get him to do the Hollow Lord ending. "With Fire, they say, a True Monarch can harness the Curse. A lie, but I knew no better." Yuria tells you that you, as a True Monarch, you can take the Fire for yourself to reclaim and harness the Curse and Hollowing for humanity. She's straight up trying to ruin you like all the Dark Queens did for their Monarchs in Dark Souls 2. Don't be fooled, friends. Let the world take its proper course, let the Fire go out. The Fire Keeper seems to tell you that it's gonna be back one day on its own, so let's just let it do its thing, and it'll light itself when it's good and ready, like it did the first time. Hollow Lord is bad, however you look at it. It's bad on the surface because now it's always dark out and you'd live in the Land of the Jerky People. It's worse because there's no way Yuria isn't going to be in control. Oh sure, she says she serves you, and then conditions that service on terrible acts like murdering your friends (one of whom she just blatantly lies about calling himself Hollow Lord). She calls you Lord, but she's in control the entire time. We know from item descriptions that she, her sisters, and the Sable Church came to power in Londor seemingly by being masterful swordsmen. You really think a woman that slaughtered her way to the top did it just so that she could find somebody to give all that power away to? Not likely. Now, finding a suitable puppet, on the other hand...
There is something beyond the Light and the Dark. The Deep. Where the Great ones dwell. In a realm beyond our understanding, and we get closer by escaping into a new world. A painted world. Born out of blood... Or... Bloodborne...
beyond light and dark there is that which came before dragons hence why Aldia is so obsessed with them, whether that is a dragons ending or not i think the point here is that you are seeking to transcend the cycle
I hate how everyone rags on DS2 just because Miyazaki wasn't 100% involved in it so it's like he didn't make it therefore not a souls game, this souls game had the best lore and stories within it (my opinion) and honestly has the best sounds track of the 5 souls/borne games
I did enjoy DS2, but pretending like Miyazaki not working on it is the only grip people have with it is just ignorant. It had the laziest bosses, worst enemy placements, adaptability/agility is a shitty idea and lack of actually memorable NPCs is just some of the issues it got going.
Snappy Zura I'll admit the gameplay was shit, and far too easy and was a lesser souls game, but to call it not a souls game is absurd, it's definitely last in a general sense, but the soundtrack is better than the rest
ProfoundChair Oh I definitely do agree with you on that front. The hate it gets is exaggerated, but with the release of DS3, everybody has moved on to hating it while pretending like they loved DS2 all along. It's weird really because DS2's lore was great but everybody disliked how it wasn't connected to DS1's, yet now everybody hate on DS3's lore for being connected with DS1 :s
Snappy Zura ds2 lore is not "relevant" to ds1, worst souls series ever after ds3: ds3 is carbon copy of ds1, worst souls series ever souls community in nutshell
Dark Souls 2 is the best game out of entire soulsborne series for me. This weird but beautiful atmosphere, as if entire game is one endless fever dream from which you cannot wake up.
I'm more of DS3, that fast action with razor sharp gameplay and the bombastic nature of its bosses makes for an experience unique for me in the Dark Souls series
And that's exactly why I came back to it (even though I've had 7k hours in DkS2) after Elden Ring. Dark Souls II is like breathing the cleanest air you could ever get your hands on.
"You, Conqueror of adversities!.......Give us your answer." *music starts as Aldia rises behind the player* Easily one of the best boss intros in the series. Words can't describe how many chills I got the first time I fought him
Demon's Souls: Fight a mutated Old Man Dark Souls: Fight the Husk of an Old Man Dark Souls 2: Fight an Elderly Scholar Dark Souls 3: Fight the dying embers of countless others who linked the flames, presumably many old men. Dark Souls 3 - The Ringed City: Fight a really tough old man Bloodborne: Fight an Old Man Sekiro: Fight an Old Man I think there's maybe a bit of a pattern in a lot of the final bosses.
"Many monarchs were come and gone. One drowned in poison and another succumbed to flame. And another slumbers at the realm of ice. Not one of them stood here as you do ... now. You, conquer of adversaries, give us your answer."
the perfect theme for when you realize that all you've toiled for, all you've fought for, ultimately leads to the same result. as long as we stay this path, nothing will change. we'll suffer all the same. humanity will remain the unwilling props of beings beyond our power. so what say you? will anything change?
God dude, jaut finished ds2 for the first time and hooy shit i dont know why its so hated. Like, i can understand some of the mechanical failings people complaining about, and the enemy ai can be kinda dumb at times, but it was such a beautiful and unique experience, i really love how much experimentation the devs out into this one
"and no matter how tender, how exquisite... A lie will remain a lie" was the most intense and crazy statement in Dark Souls for me back then, I didn't understand the whole lore that much until I looked into his words and got a lore nerd lol. Now I always try to destroy the world in these games, Aldia literally red-pills you haha
What did his statement mean? I just beat the game, so I’m having trouble figuring out what the characters are saying since everybody speaks in freaking riddles
@@speinz9430please keap in mind i AM not a lore expert but from my understandin the words a lie will remain a lie means refers to the fire ilusion of choice because no matter what you chose it doest matter after alll someone else will link the flame even if you let it die
@@speinz9430 Given the context of that dialouge, I think it's fair to say Aldia in some sense, considers life itself an obuscating falsehood that men seek & cling to, truth lying only in true death, something lost to man with the cycles of fire, the eternal burning mark of the darksign clinging to man as man clings to life through undeath, no matter how steep the toll is.
@@ScuffedWarden ...No uh, the Darksign is a curse wrought on by the suspension of the Age Of Fire unnaturally through Gywn's act of kindling the First Flame, the Darksign is the symbol of the undead curse, & it's only real identifying trait, until you go hollow that is, the Darksign on it's own doesn't have any real importance other than being a brand for the Undead.
While Aldia is not the best boss, he is one of the best designed characters in the franchise. He tries to convince the player to let the fire fade, in turn curing the curse of the undead and benefiting humanity. Realizing he can’t force the player, he allows the them to choose. This is metaphorically is a test of faith. The undead being a sheep choiced to abandon their fate which the entire game has told them is the right path. The fire can also be used as a metaphor as well. It only benefits those who set it (the gods in this case) but not the fuel (the undead).
Has anyone ever noticed that the beginning sounds like Gwyns theme? Almost as if in mockery of his sin of prolonging the age of fire and banishing men and all that had stemmed from dark.
I was farming Sunlight Metals for the Sun Bro Covenant, and I get summoned, and I'm like "Oh, Nashandra or the throne people, easy" But, I saw Aldia, and most of the time, I was enjoying the boss music. Killed by fire balls.
I always summoned people at the final boss before ending the game and always ported out when all my summons died. The first always dies to Nashandra's Curse, the second dies to the Fireballs. Always at least one of my summons died to a fireball.
This song made me realize how literally everything that happens in dark souls was all for nothing, for not even the Gods are free from the shackles of fate. All the times the fire was linked, all those great heroes who sacrificed themselves was for nothing, in the end the fire still ended up fading and the result of this long struggle is a broken world piled with ashes upon ashes of people who were once the inhabitants of this once beautiful and majestic world
Burger souls 2: the deep fryer of the first fastfood joint Half grown hollow, what is it that you seek? Subway, McDonalds or something else entirely? Once, the lord of burgers banished fries, all that stemmed from grease. And French assumed a fleating for. French are props of the stage of fries, and no matter how salty, how exquisite. A fry will remain a fry! Half grown hollow, seek Ronald McDonald. He who almost took the path of salad. May we meet again, fledgling apple. Burger is brilliant, beautiful. To the point of consumption. Many burger kings have come and gone. One drowned I grease, another succumbed to soda. Still another slumbers in a fridge of ice. Not one of them stood were as you, do. Now! Conqueror of Taco Bell’s! Give us your answer. I lost everything, and remain here patiently, the tomato will certainly receive you. But a question remains. What do you want, truly? Subway McDonald’s? Or something else entirely. I am Wendy. I sought to shed the yolk of eggs, but failed. Now, I only wait for an answer. Seek the tomato. Seek subway, McDonald’s and what lies beyond Some are true to their purpose, though they are but taco shells, meat and salad. One man lost his own meal, but lingered on as a crumb! Peace grants men the illusion of fast food. Burnt by falsehoods, they yearn for ice cream, unaware of it’s delicious illusion. Until the sun touches their ice. We are bound by this apple slice, and as the McDonald’s that churns within fries, all fries are trust fully the illusion of ice cream. But is this so wrong? A burger joint, a food place, and yet… a restaurant of cooks and food. Young ham are you intent on shattering the egg? Spoiling this wonderful dinner? There is no food. Beyond the scope of subway, beyond the reach of McDonald’s… what could possibly await us? And yet we eat it. Insatiably. Such is our water.
many monarchs have come and gone one drowned in poisen, another succumbed to flame. still another slumbers in a realm of ice. not one of them stood here, as you do now. you, conqueror of adversities. give us your answer.
"Many monarchs have come and gone. One drowned in poison, another succumbed to flame. Still another slumbers in a realm of ice. Not one of them stood here, as you do now. You, conqueror of adversities. Give us your answer."
One thing I like about DkS2's theme is that, despite the set goals are ultimately tided with the grand scheme of others, the journey itself felt very personal and being about yourself.
Aldia is likely referenced, but it is pretty subtle. Soul Geyser (which is a spell of Aldia's in DS2 according to its description) and Soul Stream (in DS3) have the same name in Japanese kanji, so they are meant to be the same spell. The description of Soul Stream says that the individual that teaches this spell is the first of the scholars who help found the Grand Archive, who doubted the linking of the fire, and secretly tutored Prince Lothric. Remind you of anyone? Also in the courtyard of the Grand Archive is a tree-like being holding an open book. A visage of Aldia perhaps? So the First Scholar, one of the 3 pillars of the King's rule, may very well have _been_ Aldia.
@@GuardianOwl Yeah, I know about all that. I meant tangibly. Something concrete. Yeah, it’s DS so things are often left up in the air… but we got DS2 laddersmith Gillian in DS3…? You’d think at least in the Final DLC we’d get something about Aldia. You know the most important being in DS2, besides our own character. Like how about instead of that weird dead snake body in the Ashen Heep it was Aldia? But no. For our DS2 call back on the final bit of content EVER for the Dark Souls series… We got Earthen Peak.
@@TheG119YT There just probably wasn't more to be said of him, he lost his corporal body and only seemed to exist in the bonfire network. Perhaps the First Flame became too weak for him to emerge any longer. His legacy lives on via the choice of his student Prince Lothric to say "Nuts" to being the world's sacrificial lamb, likely based on Aldia's counsel. The Goddess Caitha is also something that continued from DS2 to DS3 in the base game. She is mentioned on Caitha's Chime, Morne's Ring, Red Tearstone Ring, Blue Tearstone Ring, and the miracle Caressing Tears. Also indirectly referenced on Morne's Set and Tears of Denial. Morne served only the goddess Caitha and was an influential figure in Carim, Apostle to the Archbishop, that is probably the only reason Caitha's existence is still in the public conscious. Morne might have been someone else who was plucked from around the time of DS2 (like Gilligan and Creighton) and deposited in Carim. I'm sure it's partly Earthen Peak because of the whole joke about how it is impossible for it to connect to the Iron Keep, but the real reason they probably included Earthen Peak is to get the desert pyromancer set (and Zoe) into DS3. They also pretty pointlessly callback to the Ruin Sentinels (just so they can steal their origin story), but the Ringed City provides more lore on Zullie via her set and further clarifies the relationship between her and Karla. Her phantom summoned by the Judicator uses a powered up version of the same spell that Karla sells, Dark Edge. It's description says that it is passed down from mother to child.
@@GuardianOwl Your missing my point. I get that there is other DS2 representation, I know about the lore, I’ve read all all the descriptions you just cited. What I’m saying is that, a character like Aldia someone so important… to not even get a named reference beyond some obscure Spell is pretty disappointing. And to my point. They bring back Zullie the witch and Avla… characters that weren’t even NPCs in DS2… FROM elaborated on their stories but not Aldia? It’s just disappointing to have such a vital character from the Souls game forgotten about. They did the same thing with Nito. But at least he was never an actual character like Aldia was.
Gwyn was no lord of sunlight, he was the the father of monsters, the creator of despair, the bringer of death, the king of lies. And worst of all... he was the one who doomed this world to the ashes. Our “saviour” was the one who ensured our destruction...
To be fair...how could've Gwyn known that things would turn out so bad? He literally linked the first flame 1000 years before we arrive at Lordran. The consequences of his actions were unforeseeable.
@@papoprimearchon9910 exactly, that's what makes souls games and Sekiro so compelling, they were just people fighting adversities how and with what they could.
I love these OST. It is the perfect representation of the cruel truth behind the world order in Dark Souls. I think the resemblance to Gwyn's music is intentional, it symbolizes the sheer irony of how we previously perceived the Lord of Light. In the first part we felt sorry for him, we saw in him a brave martyr who sacrificed his existence to save the world from darkness. While Gwyn's music is supposed to give a feeling of sympathy and regret to his soulless, empty form, which we at the end fight, Aldia's music makes us realize who is the real victim in all this history - humanity, descendants of the insignificant Pygmy who found the most powerful of all souls - a dark soul. Their future, their fate and heritage were stolen and trampled underfoot by a selfish ruler who, in order not to lose his heritage, betrayed humanity, who helped him fight the ancient dragons, and bind them in the fetters of light - the curse of the undead.
I truly wish this boss was good gameplay wise so it could get the credit it deserves, as someone who plays these games mostly for the lore aldia showing up after nashandra was one of the best moments for me, and this theme is just amazing
Yeah, Aldia is fine gimmick wise, with his "Red Light, Green Light" of when you can attack him, I just wish he... did more? He flings fire at you, great. But didn't Aldia also create many a Sorcery? Shouldn't he cast those as well? I'd also appreciate if he cast Hexes, but because those run off of whichever is lower between Intelligence and Faith, of the latter Aldia has none, they do barely any damage.
@@ezekielbaskerville2710 I- I mean I guess the lore explanation for it is that the on-fire stump with a face & branches can't exactly utilize those in it's current state
Aldia and Bearer of the Curse should've been in the End world in Dark souls 3 Ringed city. Because both of them found a way to cheat hollowing and it would've been cool if the game reads your memory files and summons your bearer of the curse as an enemy or ally when fighting Gael
DS1 and DS3 story feels like going on a mission as a chosen one to save the world DS2 story feels like commentary on the nature of being human That's why DS2 is so special; it feels more intimate and philosophical
A major plot point in Ds1 was The prophecy of the Chosen undead was a lie and Implies the age of fire Continuing Might not be a good thing and ds3 Straight up tells you continuing the age of fire is not a good thing And how it essentially ruined the world
The song says This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
This is one of the very best compositions I've ever heard in videogames. It's indescribable. Very dark but also comforting in some way. It captures the spirit of Dark Souls perfectly.
Dad: "Are you winning son?"
Kid: *"no dad, it will never end..."*
Dad: Young hollow, there are but two paths. Inherit the order of this world, or destroy it. But only a true monarch can make such a choice. Very few, indeed, have come even this far. And yet, your journey is far from over. Half-grown hollow, have you what it takes, truly?
Good kid, very good.
Unless that is your final choice, son
Son: "Life is brilliant. Beautiful. It enchants us, to the point of obsession.
Some are true to their purpose, though they are but shells, flesh and mind.
One man lost his own body, but lingered on, as a head.
Others chase the charms of love, however elusive.
What is it that drives you?
Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark, and all that stemmed from humanity.
And men assumed a fleeting form.
These are the roots of our world.
Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite…
A lie will remain a lie.
Young Hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?"
Son: beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of dark, what could possibly await us? And yet we seek...
Gwyn: “I shall save the world by rekindling the first flame!”
Aldia: “ you absolute dingus.”
@@DytoxPrime Accept the end of the cycle, instead of corrupting it
@@DytoxPrime he died anyway. he didnt fear death, he feared change
@@DytoxPrime ok but he still died? you said he didnt want to die, im calling you wrong because he chose to die.
@@DytoxPrime "GwYn DiD nOtHinG WrOnG"
@@DytoxPrime he knew too well, we know from the ringed city that he tricked the pigmies branding them with a cirle of fire and starting the curse. he had frampt as his advisor, there are no beings in the dark souls world who have more knowledge than a primordial serpent such he his. gwyn has been selfish killing all the dragons because that was the course of nature, but refused to accept that he was going to have the same fate, humanity and the Dark were the future for nature's will. also we know that humanity helped the god in the fight against the dragons and he decided to make everyone forget about it, even humans are not aware of that. humans were meant to be the ruler of the world and as humans coexisted with the gods, they could have done the same. he wasn't frightend by the Dark he just did want to keep himself and his family on the top of the world.
One drowned in poison,
another succumbed to flame.
Still another slumbers in a realm of ice.
One of the best voice acting in the souls series accompanied with some of the most memorable quotes
One lock his self in darkness
Do that Reference the 3 main boss of the DLC?
@@officialdash303yt7 yes
@@officialdash303yt7the kings from each DLC
Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark, and all that stemmed from humanity. And men assumed a fleeting form. These are the roots of our world. Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite... A lie will remain a lie.
I love Aldia so much. Such an amazing character. Have you seen Silver Mont's video about Dark Souls 3's story? He explains how Aldia set the events of that game in motion, and it's really cool
Which one is it?
Young hollow...
"But is that so wrong?"
Young hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?
I like how, in contrast to themes like Gwyn or Sif's, this isn't directly "sad" it feels almost...desolate. If Gwyn's theme sounded like the mourning of a tragedy, Aldia's feels like a man coming to the realization that his entire life was completely pointless.
Or hope is pointless as the truth of the Undead Curse confirms that.
@@wiseguy240Winston the realization that the flame was a lie and that the cursed state called hollow is your true nature, if you link the flame your perpetrate the enslavement of your own kind, if you end the flame you turn them all into monsters, the third choice aldia wanted was a way of be free from the flame without losing all that humanity is in the process, that is why he studied dragons and committed so many horrible experiments, aldia was so desperate that he even went as far as turning himself into a burning tree head but after you prove yourself he and vendrick give your the perfected version hence you gain the ability to stop hollowing while wearing the crown, problem is that cannot be replicated for the whole of humanity and so you musk seek power and the rest will follow forever bound to seek a miracle where light and dark exist simultaneously but without intermingling and leading to the end of disparity, as much as other people hate it ds2 i loved that end much more than the end of ds3 its dark but also hopeful even if it feels like vain hope
he realized that there is no thing as eternal life. prepare to die. literally.
@@wiseguy240Winston life itself is the curse. the illusion of life. the true state of humanity is to be dead - not dead as in 'cool magical zombies with armor' but dead dead. nothingness.
And the Soul of Cinder theme has the triumphant first part followed the tragic Gwen theme, symbolizing how in spite of all our efforts and the efforts of those before us to bring about a grand resurgence, it’s all for naught.
Congrats Gwyn, you ruined everything, for everyone, for all time.
No, he saved everyone from a world without sun.
sunlight 4 life
*COUGH* *COUGH* Should we talk about what he did with his subjects in the Ringed City? *COUGH* *COUGH!*
It should be noted that Gwyn, while indeed being the literal personification of "Local Man Ruins Everything", didn't ruin the worst stuff on purpose. He had no idea just how long-lasting and consequential his actions would be.
joshua kim Gwyn wanted his age to last forever. Yes, he knew how long his actions would plague the world very well. Probably hoped they would plague the world for longer
Now this is a final boss theme for a dark souls game.
+neuralshock7 Yeah, people sometimes get mad at how it could be easy (for those good at parrying at least) but the whole point of the fight is how you're ending the journy of an old hollowing man whom you're succeeding, he's well past his glory and is now nothing but an empty shell of what he used to be, I especially like Souls series' tendency to fill the ost with battle music and epic stuff, then have the climax a melancholic music piece that makes you remember your journy, and the memorable time you had with the game's world, or at least what's left of that world, I felt really sad about how it was all over, I wanted to delve into the world more, but here we stand, at the deepest depths of the world, the time for it to end, and what a better place for the journy to end than the place where it all started, The Kiln of the First Flame/The Throne of Want
@@Er404ChannelNotFound only, that it will probably never truly end, since gwyn messed up the cycle of nature to such an extend, that fleeing to a world painted with the pigment of the dark soul may be the only possible way to obtain salvation and break the curse (or not)
Aldia > Gwyn
@@blobbything2986 We talking theme?
@@FallaciousDreams In general except for the actual fight. I just find the character to be a whole lot more interesting. And yes, the theme as well
There is no path.
Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark...
...what could possibly await us?
And yet, we seek it, insatiably...
Such is our fate.
@Younes Outlaptic • 11 years ago Did you ever Played ds1 ?
@@Ryuxun yeah in ds1 they straight up tell you the lore over and over throughout the game, making the whole thing pretty underwhelming and less satisfying than ds2.
@@sathlasdalaraynidridlendar6875 ????????????????? In ds1 you only get the lore by reading Item descriptions and talking to Npcs.
@@Ryuxun vai se foder mano
Human existence in a nutshell.
Man... Scholar of the First Sin is so philosophical. I love that. And this theme is just beautiful.
Pretty much every single Miyazaki game can be seen from a philosophical perspective.
Some say Dark Souls is a huge metaphor for cronic depression.
Who knows.
CRIPLING DEPRESSION
@@HittokiriBattousai17 u indeed killed me.
@@HittokiriBattousai17 well a hollow is just a human who doesnt want to live anymore... hollows are suicidal people
Dark Souls 1: Fight an old man with sad music
Dark Souls 2 Vanilla: No fight with an old man with sad music
Dark Souls 2 SOTFS: Fight an old man with sad music
Dark Souls 3: Fight an old man with sad music
Bloodborne: Fight an old man with sad music.
How bout Sekiro?
@@Z3Milesky Fight old man with very epic music and no hesitation
Elden Ring : Fight an old man with sad music
SPOILER ELDEN RING FINAL BOSS
Well, i was wrong
Fighting a God with the epic menu theme
Then Fighting an Elden Beast with light calm music.
Dark souls 2 vanilla you can fight with aldia too
@@Boc_theSeamster Hesitation is defeat!
"But the question remains..."
"What do you want, truly?"
"Light? Dark? Or something else entirely..."
“Wingstop.”
“……boneless or bone in?”
Aldia was the boss that Bed of Chaos should've been.
I really hope the boss gets better in the Remaster. I mean, they said the result was not what they wanted, so it would be sensible. On the other hand, be it with the games themselves or the various bugs, when is FROM being sensible?
Aldia > Bed Of Chaos
To be fair, I died four or five times. But it never frustrated me because it's the only boss where progress is saved when you die. It's a little annoying to have a boss kill you in one hit, but you can one-shot the boss, too. So the playing field is even.
Best tree boss in the series
@@ezekielbaskerville2710 sadly it wasn't changed:(
we're refusing to link the fire with this one🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯
we escaping the clutches of the undead curse with this one 🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🥶🥶🥶‼‼
I always link the fire in DS1, because in my headcanon, the chosen undead linked the fire.
I don't know if DS2 and DS3 would be the way they are if the flame wasn't linked.
In my head, Frampt managed to make the chosen undead link the fire, because finding kaathe is way too specific, and I believe most of us followed Kingseeker Frampt's hints of where to go. Also, if the flame had died out in DS1, how would we actually have DS3?
"A lie. But I knew no better."
-Vendrick, Ruler of Drangleic
All men trust fully the illusion of life: but is this so wrong? A construction, a facade, and yet a world full of warmth and resplendence.
Are you intent on shattering the yoke, spoiling this wonderful falsehood?
No, because life is no falsehood, and it is not an illusion. Life and light are a part of our world, but it was the sins of those who came before most of us, who called upon cursed power, masquerading as gods with the intent of dominating us from a misguided understanding of how Light and Dark work, that are deserving of punishment.
Light and Dark do not rely upon one another. They do not exist in harmony nor loop in an endless cycle. Darkness is the absence of Light, and even when the cursed fire fades from this world, True Light will one day be restored to the world, chasing away The Darkness entirely.
@@magnanimousmartyr421 they are intertwined tho because you can't have light without shadows. As you and the fire keeper in ds3 stated even if the age of dark takes over entirely there will one day be flickers that will create a new light. It is a big cycle that's the whole theme of dark souls. Life and light are connected to dark and death when they are tampered with from their natural state you get undeath the abyss chaos and all manner of unnatural things. It's yin and yang no matter how firmly one side takes hold the smallest flicker of the other is inherently part of it and will revive given time. They defy this cycle and in extension defy nature and receive their own punishments for it.
That’s the lie. Darkness was always around and humans were born from darkness. Humans don’t need light at all. Humans were brainwashed and forced to believe that they did. That’s why humans suffer from desires we never had at first, and assumed fleeting forms. When humans could literally be whatever we wanted through will.
When Manus snapped he became a giant monster. Aldia harnessed the curse, and ascended. However, he’s trapped within a cyclic universe. Watching his race doing pointless things. Humans are beyond and above all of that as humans are of the dark. Looking like a zombie doesn’t bother us. It bothered the fleeting gods how had fleeting powers. When the evangelists wanted to ascend in III they became the angels they envisioned themselves to be. They even harnessed light. As light is born from darkness. Darkness is eternal, but without light there is no meaning or purpose. Darkness is without shape/form. The thing is there was never any point in anything which is what Aldia tries to get you to see. Everything everyone did still amounted to nothing. We see this at the end of III against Gael. There’s nothing left. Beyond light and darkness is nothing. When one ascends they have no need for desires and the like. You simply exist for existence sake.
You, conqueror of adversities.
What do you want, truly?
I want Dark Souls 30 before the release date.
+yugioh guy by then it'd be mech human soldiers with jet packs.
足立徹 But dark souls 30....
@@CardboardBoxGod well we have armored core vi now. you must have predicted this. anyways, it's been a long time huh.
achieve my goal and move forward until death.
classic yet... tragic
Aldia > rest of the characters
In DS II at least.
@@williamgallows8882 I like DS2 NPCs the most, Navlaan the assassin, the great Straid of Olaphis and the short brotherhood of blood psycho dude also the dwarfs (Bell Keepers) the Rat king is cool as hell, Vengarl the beheaded, Pate and Creighton DS2 has the best NPCs hands down
@@oneofthem6124 Nah
@@oneofthem6124 the rat king is cool as hell?
one of them the summons were also good
1:38
"Miserere" translates to "Have mercy". Good god.
It's the milfanito singing.
They're based on Cherubim; angelic spirits of harmony.
Sorry to break the illusion but matoi and Kita ( composers of all three souls games, demon souls) confirmed there are no real Latin words or phrases… they used a program to generate Latin sounding syllables… even the songs song by real choirs used this software. Only 2 songs In blood borne contained real Latin
A quick google for their tweets proving this will confirm
@@FadesGameShack That was about Elden Ring, not Dark Souls 2. Learn how to read.
@@alfalldoot6715 Oh really, I thought 2 had some Latin that I understand
Damn that sucks but! That also adds to Aldia's idea, so tender so exquisite... @@FadesGameShack
The "First Sin" was sacrifice... If you investigate the stories of every notable character within the series you will see that they abandoned everything for a cause of some kind, regardless of the consequence. Gwyn sacrificed everything in order keep the Dark at bay. The Witch of Izalith sacrificed everything in an attempt recreate the First Flame. Seath sacrificed his own sanity in order to achieve immortality. Artorias sacrificed his shield that repels Dark in order to save his compatriot, Sif. Sif will sacrifice the established friendship with the Chosen Undead in order to uphold its own honor. Raime sacrificed his own position in order to pursuit his own path, rather than to walk in Vendrick's shadow. Nadalia sacrificed her very being in order to protect the Old Iron King's heirlooms. The Ivory King sacrificed everything in order to satiate the Old Chaos. Aldia sacrificed everything in an attempt to break the curse. The monarch sacrifices the entire world in order to find out what could possibly await beyond Light and Dark.
There's also the argument that the first sin is existence - life itself essentially - many in the game (and I think Straid has some line about living being the real curse or something) make reference to the curse of life being the curse of want. It somewhat relates to Aldias experiments on the nature of life and the curse itself.
Both are decent theories. I rather think of a third one.
The first sin was to put up resistance against the natures path. - Gwyn's kindling. Connecting humanity, the Dark Soul to the flame to prevent the Age of Dark. Because if the flame fades, humans turn hollow, like all so called "gods" and humans were. As far as I got Aldia's words, the curse wouldn't exist, if Gwyn didn't feed pieces of the Dark soul to the first flame. He prevented the age of Dark by doing so and the only way to prevent the reconversion is to feed even more humanity to the flame.
Kaathe's wanna-be-age-of-dark would just be another age of ancients. Probably his true intention.
This is actually something I was thinking a lot about. Why is there no difference between the age of dark and the age of ancients? Just a lie of Kaathe? I think I figured it out - there is no age of dark. Not anymore. Until someone can reverse Gwyn's kindling. Same problem with the Witches Chaos Flame. A Flame that creates life, it cannot be stopped. Actually Eleum Loyce is the perfect place to keep it locked. Eternal fire against eternal ice.
Seph Imaru Aldia wants to break the cycle. If you didn't notice: he himself is already free from the cycle of light and dark. But he cannot end the cycle, even tho he tried it so very hard. He can only convince us, the cursed undead, not to continue with the cycle and usher in the new age. Age that we cannot know for sure what it will be. Even Aldia doesnt know this (he only has 3 options: light or dark and after dark the unknown).
The stories about never ending cycles are very popular in japanese culture. Even in video games.
In Dragons Dogma we broke the Cycle by killing ourself with the Gogsbane.
In Dark Souls 2 we do the same by walking away from the Kiln and not becoming the "Dark Lord" either. Only way to the cycle continue is that another Undead is fooled to rekindle the first flame or become the new dark lord (and thus waiting for next usurper to light the flame / usher in the age of dark). We just walk away. We continue our life free of the shackles of the cycle, and if we have all the crowns we are also free of the curse of the undead.
Aldia gets what he wants, and stays there watching over the Kiln and preventing other undeads to continue with the cycle.
Sure, age of dark will come from the new ending. But since Aldia will try to prevent the cycle from continuing the age of Dark will end eventually and new age will come. It seems to me, that the current age of light is almost dead. All monarchs before us have fallen, the kingdoms in ruins. Only a few souls remain that haven't hollowed or been consumed by dark.
Early Crowd And the hollowing also continues. What's the point of the chosen undead to be the only sane thing left in the world (next to ghosts and Aldia)?
There is no evidence, that the curse of humans loosing their humanity will stop if you do not rekindle the flame.
It seems, given my interpretation, the "First Sin" and "First Flame" may considered entirely synonymous, being one and the same.
The advent of fire, and with it, disparity, sends the world into never ending turmoil (chaos would be a more appropriate term, seeing as that it is a term so often tied to fire in this series.)
Aldia wishes to bring an end to this chaos, both light and dark, and let the world return to the gray waste it once was. There would be not happiness, sadness, pain or pleasure, perceptions of wealth or depravity, Aldia viewed these as illusions which mask the truth of what reality is.
What that perception of reality is?
It's hard to say, given Aldia is implied to have transcended beyond the state of anything recognizably human, something like a God of the Lovecraft mythos, the series may mean to imply that his attempting to divorce man of his more chaotic nature, so they may achieve the higher plane he has...
I can't say for certain however, like all fans of the Dark Souls my perspective of the series is almost entirely speculative given what we get, any other thoughts?
What I love the most is how Aldia's question is so simple and yet so impactful and meaningful.
"What is it that you want?"
His question is the most valid of all. All you did in the previous game was just follow orders or requests because you had nothing else to do, but in DS2, someone actually gives you something that no else has given before: A choice. Not a choice between linking the fire or propagating the dark, but a choice of what you really want to do. And that shit stuck with me more than DS3, personally.
@@gigachad3487 I mean, Bearer Of The Curse's influence exists because he chose to not be a part of the cycle at all. Lucatiel's name is remembered, for example.
"Young hollow, do you still desire peace?" or "what is it that drives you?"...
@@gigachad3487 if you do the aldia's ending, you do have an impact
you reject the throne to seek a better way out of hell
Aldia is the only one to see the futility of the cycle of fire and dark, yet he still has the vision/hope to find a third path to save humanity
I wish like hell that when you fell down to demon prince arena in ringed city, instead of demon prince, the bonfire is there waiting for you, a redone version of this song started playing, and you heard the words “ah…no one has come this far…not for a very long while.” And then the bonfire explodes, and he rises up. “Young Ash…do you seek embers? The peace of Dark? Or something beyond? Let us have your answer.”
Let me place my own spin on this dialogue…
“Ah, I have not seen one such as you. Never, in all of time. I have not spoken to anyone else, not in a very long time. You, ashen one, what is it that you seek? Does thou seek the embers of flame? Or the peaceful embrace of darkness? Or perhaps… an ancient strength, hidden away from long ago. Tell us your answer.” With after battle dialogue of “Many a kingdom has come and gone. But this is what happens to great kingdoms. Ashen one, tell me. What is there left to your purpose? You stumble without it, blindly searching for a goal. And yet, you were never given one. Young ash, do continue on this purposeless path. Perhaps your role in this dying world will be found.”
And for a final dialogue, after defeating Gael, rising out of the ash in the arena… “Ah. So that was the purpose you had chosen. To collect the blood of the dark soul… Young ash, heed these final words, the last I shall ever speak. The cycle of light, and dark, ends here. With nothing but ash, and ruins of once great kingdoms. Amongst all this, that one man continued his path. He once fought against the ancient dragons, as naught but cannon fodder for the gods. But he outlasted those old lords, and those demons, borne of a futile hope. I have only one final question for you… ashen one… what good is such… a powerful thing… when there no one else… to use it over?” And as such, everything ends. Even Aldia.
Something I always wanted In the souls series. An actual answer and not some sort of "yes or no" question. Aldia out of every single souls character deserves an opportunity for such an open ended response.
Tbh, Aldia should’ve been in DS3. Him not even being mentioned as the one who escaped the cycle but was badly deformed during the process, doesn’t sit right with me.
@@ShatteredPedestal7
It is possible he was the one that influenced Lothric to not become Lord of Cinder, which in a domino effect can lead to the actualization of his "third option" (Lord of Hollows ending)
@@arealhumanbean3058Soul Stream in DS3 reads:
Sorcery imparted by the first of the Scholars, when Lothric and the Grand Archives were but young.
Fires a torrential volley of souls.
The first of the Scholars doubted the linking of the fire, and was alleged to be a private mentor to the Royal Prince.
Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of dark, what could await us? Yet we seek it insatiably...
Such is our fate, for that is our course.
I lost everything, but remained here, patiently.
The throne will certainly receive you.
But the question remains...
What do you want, truly?
Light? Dark? Or something else entirely...''
When i listen to this theme, i can feel the deep pain of Aldia, his infinite wisdom and his horrible fate that makes him become this creature, this monster. His own curse for trying to break the Curse... I feel very bad for him 😩
Actually he became beyond of life and death, he freed himself from curse, he like a dragon, who paid a big cost.
Didn't this guy senselessly torture his own followers for the sake of 'science'? I'm pretty sure he committed some pretty damn heinous crimes here
@@Ayrayen Crimes? What are crimes in the Dark Souls series?
There are no crimes, and maybe not even sins. Despite prayers, hexes and the alike working, it's a godless land. As TJD005 said, there are only sacrifices, cause and effect. And with some of those sacrifices comes curses.
@@KolincaResNovae Yup wrong terminology. He just performed cruel and horrible experiments.
@@Ayrayen I've thought that even though he committed a bunch of cruel experiments he was so desperate that he even sacrificed his own body and humanity. I'm not justifying him, just trying to understand the level of despair that he felt when he realized there was no exit from the curse.
no matter how tender, how exquisite... A LIE WILL REMAIN A LIE.
Gwyn: *exist*
Aldia: ...And I took that personally.
"Life is brilliant. Beautiful. It enchants us, to the point of obsession. Some are true to their purpose, though they are but shells, flesh and mind...."
"...What is it that drives you?"
"Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark, and all that stemmed from humanity, and men assumed a fleeting form. These are the roots of our world; Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite... _A lie will remain a lie._"
"[K]nowing this, do you still desire peace?"
"[W]hat is a king? You, neither born with greatness, nor granted it by the fates - what is it that you seek? You cannot even say yourself.
"How you grapple, without falter, with this dreadfully twisted world. Peace grants men the illusion of life; Shackled by falsehoods, they yearn for love, unaware of its grand illusion. Until, the curse touches their flesh."
"We are bound by this yoke. As true as the Dark that churns within men."
"All men trust fully the illusion of life. But is this so wrong? A construction, a facade, and yet... A world full of warmth and resplendence. [A]re you intent on shattering the yoke, spoiling this wonderful falsehood?
"I sought to shed the yoke of fate, but failed. Now, I only await an answer. Seek the throne. Seek light, Dark and what lies beyond...
"Many monarchs have come and gone. Not one of them stood here, as you do now."
"You, conqueror of adversities. Give us your answer."
"I lost everything, but remained here, patiently. The throne will certainly receive you. But the question remains...
"What do you want, truly? Light? Dark? Or something else entirely...?
"There is no path. Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark...
"...what could possibly await us?"
"And yet, we seek it, insatiably..."
*"Such is our fate."*
Brilliant dialogue. However, you seem to have forgotten (or it was intentional) one part of it. The line before his boss battle that goes:
*"Many monarchs have come and gone. One drowned in poison, another succumbed to flame. Still another slumbers in a realm of ice. Not one of them stood here, as you do now. You, conqueror of adversities. Give us your answer."*
@@numbjuhnu I did skip parts of his dialogue intentionally.
Самое жуткое, что весь этот диалог из "игры без смысла и сюжета"... можно экстраполировать на реальную жизнь.
Ради чего ты живешь, _username?_
*A LIE WILL REMAIN A LIE*
Considering how hit-or-miss the main game's score was, and how the real good music was almost exclusively in the DLC, this is amazing. Probably one of my favorites in the entire "Souls" series. I rank it up there with Maiden Astraea and Gehrman's theme. It just so perfectly encapsulates the character of Aldia, describing his loneliness and isolation, as well as the enormous sacrifices he made in a last-ditch attempt to un-fuck the world.
+The demon that comes when people call its name. Dark Souls 2 ost is better than dark souls 1 ost. Dark souls 1 ost is the weakest in the soulsborne series by far.
+Grissom Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, Artorias of the Abyss, Ornstein and Smough, Nameless Song, Firelink Shrine. I just named 5 tracks that are better than Dark Souls II's OST completely. II's only high moments in it's OST are this and Sir Alonne.
+The demon that comes when people call its name. The DkS2 main game had pretty good soundtrack no doubt. And the most varied in the entire series by far.
@@juliabailey9685 How about The Ivory King theme, Longing(credits ost), Departure, Vendrick's theme, Things betwix theme.
Dark Souls 2 has other very good soundtracks, it's just a matter of looking for them and not just focusing on the best known. I answer you 4 years later but is better late than never, lol.
@@BlackWingGenesis Dark Souls 1 is the weakest souls game impo
DS2 may not have the best gameplay, but the story and lore, especially after Scholar of the First Sin was released, is phenomenal. Confusing naturally, but it is what makes the game great.
Base game was all about learning about King Vendrick and how he fell.
Sotfc was all about learning the truth and choosing whether to seek out a different path, one entirely different from the path of light or dark, or embrace a lie.
The Sunken Crown is difficult to figure out, but I believe it to be about blind devotion. The people of the city worshipped the dragon with no real reason as to why, at least we don't know exactly why. They could have been afraid, they could have believed it to be a blessing, anything really. The Drakeblood Knights blindly sought to spill the dragons blood to attain knowledge from said blood.
Either way they both blindly devoted themselves to something they didn't understand, and in the end that got them both killed by the very thing they blindly worshipped/sought. Which may very well be a message about the Linking of the Fire and how little the characters of the world know about it, but still seek it out anyway.
The Crown of the Iron King is all about seeing a man sacrifice and lose everything to become great, his land, his people, and his friend only to feel despair. To find that he has sacrificed and lost so much he has nothing left. All for power and pride.
The Crown of the Ivory King is all about overcoming darkness within oneself, and sacrificing oneself for the sake of others out of goodwill. The Ivory King helped his queen break free from her dark nature to the point where she now stands alone to keep Chaos contained. The Ivory King himself, once he realzied he was getting weaker, plunged into Chaos with his knights to buy the world just a little more time simply because it was the right thing to do.
As I said Dark Souls 2 may not have the best game mechanics, but the lore and stories, and the music, are well worth the hardships and frustration one will endure in the game.
DS2 gameplay was the best part lol
@@ash_1419 it's pure shit . How they put 20 enemies in one room and think this is hard . It brought nothing but hate and 0 creativity . The story levels and lore was very good as he said
@@newleader5982 gameplay in terms of dual wielding, power stances and many more...enemy placement is yeah not that great.
@@ash_1419 I do agree on that, dual wielding was new and fun
@@ash_1419 Dark Souls 2 is awesome (:
Aldia single handedly saved ds 2
One of the best characters
No joke him and the crowns were the only reason i did NG+, not because i wanted to but because i didn't fight vendrick before nashranda which meant i didn't get Aldia boss fight, I just finished the final DLC and got vendricks blessing today
these comments aged very badly.
miyazaki defended dark souls 2,said it was a great game and carried the entire series,and by series he means all other fromsoftware games including the lastest title elden ring.
there was never a thing wrong with dark souls 2.
@@RelaxingNostalgiaWhat is bro yapping about
@@RelaxingNostalgia nah bro, despite what (presumably) Miyazaki said, Dark souls 2 was an error. I mean, I love the game, but still it is really bad compared to DS 1 and DS 3
@@RelaxingNostalgia Most people say they hate Dark Souls 2 because it's the "B" team. Let them hate this. I love the Dark Souls II community way more than the overpolluted Elden Ring and other Souls games community.
“no matter how tender, how exquisite…a lie will remain a lie.”
Just stopping in a mere day before Shadow of the Erdtree. Don’t let lies remain lies.
Miquella lied to us, he paid the consequences of being lying to the rightful tarnished: the God of men.
I'm now absolutely convinced Dark Souls is, ultimately, a love story. The will to live, preserving through adversity... fundamental conditions of humans, but these are mere consequences of the ultimate sin. That sin, which compells us to proceed through a futile lie, is love.
It kind of depends upon your perspective with that. You more or less suppose your own motivations unto a character in a Dark Souls game, by that right, my character could very well have been entirely driven by hate and self loathing by his undead affliction, hoping to claim or abandon the throne, destroying any adversity in his way to spite the vile world around him, and attain some feeling of self once again.
You could view that as analogy for what mankind is, proud in their prime, beastly in depravity, but always struggling for some form of identity in an abstract and ever uncertain world.
But, again, your character is in the end, an entirely blank-faced avatar for yourself, you could try supposing an entirely different character unto him/her and gain a completely different perspective of the narrative, going that route.
Your thought could be well supported by the fact that your character has some faint memory of a woman and baby who could have most likely been related to you. Perhaps it's love for whoever they were that drives the main character to continue the journey.
JXZX1 Well yeah. That's the essence of tragedy. A lot of people think tragedies are about sadness and despair but they're not. Things like the Souls series, Berserk, Nier, and of course classics like Shakespeare, they're stories about love, passion, hope. If the tragedy itself is a giant barren wasteland, then the true focus of the story is the single flower growing from between the cracks in the ground.
Shinkada Lindwyrm I tend to agree. I'd argue, however, that Dark Souls (the first) did suffer from being a giant barren wasteland without any beautiful flowers at all. Its tone is exactly as the title describes: Dark.
JXZX1 That I'd argue. Gwyn's story is incredibly romantic, absolute sacrifice, giving his entire existence for the First Flame to burn away the Dark of Humanity's soul. If the Chosen Undead decides to relight the flame that's even moreso, he or she opts to follow Gwyn's footsteps even after seeing first hand the eventual effects. Solaire, Siegmeyer and Laurentius are studies in the concept, they're very basic characters with incredibly simple and undeveloped writing, they're not really helpful in any huge capacity, they barely actually do anything at all, and yet people love them just because they're not outright hostile. They're elevated by their surroundings.
And, y'know. Everything to do with Artorias.
"In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control; even over his own will." - Void
ah, yes. Berserk reference. It's Dark Souls, so the resemblance is uncanny but still utterly beautiful and tragic.
You, conqueror or adversities...
Give us your answer.
The idea of "Beyond the scope of Light, beyond the reach of Dark" is something that really intrigues me. I feel like there has to be *something*, but we never find out what it is, exactly. Whatever it was, though, I like to think that it was incredibly consequential, unlike most other things that happen over the ages. The Bearer of the Curse and Aldia "destroy the order of the world", like he says, but I don't think they do that by just not linking the First Flame like so many would-be Dark Lords do. They do something with the power of the crowns, whether directly or just through avoiding Hollowing long enough to figure out what to do, but they do something that destroys "the order of this world" and seems to cause linking the Fire to not really work like it was supposed to anymore, hence why, by the time of DS3, linking the Fire hardly does anything anymore. All that said, I also feel that the End of Fire and not the Hollow Lord ending is the best one, since it seems to me that Vendrick pretty much tells you that Nashandra tried to get him to do the Hollow Lord ending. "With Fire, they say, a True Monarch can harness the Curse. A lie, but I knew no better." Yuria tells you that you, as a True Monarch, you can take the Fire for yourself to reclaim and harness the Curse and Hollowing for humanity. She's straight up trying to ruin you like all the Dark Queens did for their Monarchs in Dark Souls 2. Don't be fooled, friends. Let the world take its proper course, let the Fire go out. The Fire Keeper seems to tell you that it's gonna be back one day on its own, so let's just let it do its thing, and it'll light itself when it's good and ready, like it did the first time. Hollow Lord is bad, however you look at it. It's bad on the surface because now it's always dark out and you'd live in the Land of the Jerky People. It's worse because there's no way Yuria isn't going to be in control. Oh sure, she says she serves you, and then conditions that service on terrible acts like murdering your friends (one of whom she just blatantly lies about calling himself Hollow Lord). She calls you Lord, but she's in control the entire time. We know from item descriptions that she, her sisters, and the Sable Church came to power in Londor seemingly by being masterful swordsmen. You really think a woman that slaughtered her way to the top did it just so that she could find somebody to give all that power away to? Not likely. Now, finding a suitable puppet, on the other hand...
There is something beyond the Light and the Dark. The Deep. Where the Great ones dwell. In a realm beyond our understanding, and we get closer by escaping into a new world. A painted world. Born out of blood...
Or...
Bloodborne...
Underrated comment 👏
beyond light and dark there is that which came before dragons hence why Aldia is so obsessed with them, whether that is a dragons ending or not i think the point here is that you are seeking to transcend the cycle
whoa i got summoned to help with nashandra we killed her then aldia appeared wasnt expecting that lol what an awesome theme
Lol you got spoiled when helping people
@@atahanakay He probably killed Nashandra before Vendrick lol
I hate how everyone rags on DS2 just because Miyazaki wasn't 100% involved in it so it's like he didn't make it therefore not a souls game, this souls game had the best lore and stories within it (my opinion) and honestly has the best sounds track of the 5 souls/borne games
yes
I did enjoy DS2, but pretending like Miyazaki not working on it is the only grip people have with it is just ignorant. It had the laziest bosses, worst enemy placements, adaptability/agility is a shitty idea and lack of actually memorable NPCs is just some of the issues it got going.
Snappy Zura
I'll admit the gameplay was shit, and far too easy and was a lesser souls game, but to call it not a souls game is absurd, it's definitely last in a general sense, but the soundtrack is better than the rest
ProfoundChair Oh I definitely do agree with you on that front. The hate it gets is exaggerated, but with the release of DS3, everybody has moved on to hating it while pretending like they loved DS2 all along. It's weird really because DS2's lore was great but everybody disliked how it wasn't connected to DS1's, yet now everybody hate on DS3's lore for being connected with DS1 :s
Snappy Zura ds2 lore is not "relevant" to ds1, worst souls series ever
after ds3: ds3 is carbon copy of ds1, worst souls series ever
souls community in nutshell
YOU CRIED
PREPARE TO CRY
This song has actually shaped up to be one of my favourite themes in all Dark Souls.
Burnt Ivory King, Artorias, Aldia and abyss watchers are by far my favorites characters of the whole series!
Dark Souls 2 is the best game out of entire soulsborne series for me. This weird but beautiful atmosphere, as if entire game is one endless fever dream from which you cannot wake up.
Bloodborne is definitely the best if it comes to soulsborne.
I'm more of DS3, that fast action with razor sharp gameplay and the bombastic nature of its bosses makes for an experience unique for me in the Dark Souls series
unbelieveable, people having different opinions and not completely attacking each other? i love it :D
@@ethanclark640 I know right
And that's exactly why I came back to it (even though I've had 7k hours in DkS2) after Elden Ring. Dark Souls II is like breathing the cleanest air you could ever get your hands on.
After revisiting the game, I can truly say scholar of the first sin has the best lore among the trilogy.
Haha lol
"You, Conqueror of adversities!.......Give us your answer."
*music starts as Aldia rises behind the player*
Easily one of the best boss intros in the series. Words can't describe how many chills I got the first time I fought him
Demon's Souls: Fight a mutated Old Man
Dark Souls: Fight the Husk of an Old Man
Dark Souls 2: Fight an Elderly Scholar
Dark Souls 3: Fight the dying embers of countless others who linked the flames, presumably many old men.
Dark Souls 3 - The Ringed City: Fight a really tough old man
Bloodborne: Fight an Old Man
Sekiro: Fight an Old Man
I think there's maybe a bit of a pattern in a lot of the final bosses.
I mean to be fair, in Elden Ring you fight a space alien whale alongside a crazy blacksmith.
@@thesnatcher3616 Technically Radagon was also really old, he just doesn't look old because he's a god.
In Bloodborne you fight with a monster taht resides in another dimension.
Elden ring SOTE: Fight a Femboy god and his half-brother consort
the song is dark, but very beautiful
This music was so sad it made onions cry
Love reading your guys' theories and comments on the story. :)
"Life is brilliant. Beautiful. It enchants us, to the point of obsession..."
No matter how tender...
How exquisite...
A LIE WILL REMAIN A LIE!!!
"Many monarchs were come and gone.
One drowned in poison and another succumbed to flame.
And another slumbers at the realm of ice.
Not one of them stood here as you do ... now.
You, conquer of adversaries, give us your answer."
the perfect theme for when you realize that all you've toiled for, all you've fought for, ultimately leads to the same result. as long as we stay this path, nothing will change. we'll suffer all the same. humanity will remain the unwilling props of beings beyond our power.
so what say you?
will anything change?
God dude, jaut finished ds2 for the first time and hooy shit i dont know why its so hated. Like, i can understand some of the mechanical failings people complaining about, and the enemy ai can be kinda dumb at times, but it was such a beautiful and unique experience, i really love how much experimentation the devs out into this one
always I liked final battles in Souls Series, the piano in the song... I Just... exquisite...
"and no matter how tender, how exquisite... A lie will remain a lie" was the most intense and crazy statement in Dark Souls for me back then, I didn't understand the whole lore that much until I looked into his words and got a lore nerd lol. Now I always try to destroy the world in these games, Aldia literally red-pills you haha
What did his statement mean? I just beat the game, so I’m having trouble figuring out what the characters are saying since everybody speaks in freaking riddles
@@speinz9430please keap in mind i AM not a lore expert but from my understandin the words a lie will remain a lie means refers to the fire ilusion of choice because no matter what you chose it doest matter after alll someone else will link the flame even if you let it die
@@speinz9430 Given the context of that dialouge, I think it's fair to say Aldia in some sense, considers life itself an obuscating falsehood that men seek & cling to, truth lying only in true death, something lost to man with the cycles of fire, the eternal burning mark of the darksign clinging to man as man clings to life through undeath, no matter how steep the toll is.
@@BB_Promoter I thought the point of the dark sign was to actually kill humans for good
@@ScuffedWarden ...No uh, the Darksign is a curse wrought on by the suspension of the Age Of Fire unnaturally through Gywn's act of kindling the First Flame, the Darksign is the symbol of the undead curse, & it's only real identifying trait, until you go hollow that is, the Darksign on it's own doesn't have any real importance other than being a brand for the Undead.
While Aldia is not the best boss, he is one of the best designed characters in the franchise. He tries to convince the player to let the fire fade, in turn curing the curse of the undead and benefiting humanity. Realizing he can’t force the player, he allows the them to choose.
This is metaphorically is a test of faith. The undead being a sheep choiced to abandon their fate which the entire game has told them is the right path.
The fire can also be used as a metaphor as well. It only benefits those who set it (the gods in this case) but not the fuel (the undead).
Has anyone ever noticed that the beginning sounds like Gwyns theme? Almost as if in mockery of his sin of prolonging the age of fire and banishing men and all that had stemmed from dark.
Virgin Gwyn final boss theme vs Chad Aldia final boss theme
I was farming Sunlight Metals for the Sun Bro Covenant, and I get summoned, and I'm like "Oh, Nashandra or the throne people, easy" But, I saw Aldia, and most of the time, I was enjoying the boss music.
Killed by fire balls.
I always summoned people at the final boss before ending the game and always ported out when all my summons died.
The first always dies to Nashandra's Curse, the second dies to the Fireballs.
Always at least one of my summons died to a fireball.
Life is brilliant. Beautiful. It enchants us, to the point of obsession.
Me: That was rough, wasn’t expecting two boss fights in a row like that, but least I did i-
Aldia: Ayy yo, want some tentacles?
Me: 🗿
This song made me realize how literally everything that happens in dark souls was all for nothing, for not even the Gods are free from the shackles of fate. All the times the fire was linked, all those great heroes who sacrificed themselves was for nothing, in the end the fire still ended up fading and the result of this long struggle is a broken world piled with ashes upon ashes of people who were once the inhabitants of this once beautiful and majestic world
Best character in the Trilogy, too bad people don't appreciate him as much because they're too busy hating on the game.
Prepare to cry
+TANIKS THE SCARRED Prepare to sigh.
+Demegamachete Prepare to ragequit
Goddammit Lambert we had a rhyme
Combo breaker :3c
Prepare to why
Burger souls 2: the deep fryer of the first fastfood joint
Half grown hollow, what is it that you seek? Subway, McDonalds or something else entirely? Once, the lord of burgers banished fries, all that stemmed from grease. And French assumed a fleating for. French are props of the stage of fries, and no matter how salty, how exquisite. A fry will remain a fry! Half grown hollow, seek Ronald McDonald. He who almost took the path of salad. May we meet again, fledgling apple. Burger is brilliant, beautiful. To the point of consumption. Many burger kings have come and gone. One drowned I grease, another succumbed to soda. Still another slumbers in a fridge of ice. Not one of them stood were as you, do. Now! Conqueror of Taco Bell’s! Give us your answer. I lost everything, and remain here patiently, the tomato will certainly receive you. But a question remains. What do you want, truly? Subway McDonald’s? Or something else entirely. I am Wendy. I sought to shed the yolk of eggs, but failed. Now, I only wait for an answer. Seek the tomato. Seek subway, McDonald’s and what lies beyond Some are true to their purpose, though they are but taco shells, meat and salad. One man lost his own meal, but lingered on as a crumb! Peace grants men the illusion of fast food. Burnt by falsehoods, they yearn for ice cream, unaware of it’s delicious illusion. Until the sun touches their ice. We are bound by this apple slice, and as the McDonald’s that churns within fries, all fries are trust fully the illusion of ice cream. But is this so wrong? A burger joint, a food place, and yet… a restaurant of cooks and food. Young ham are you intent on shattering the egg? Spoiling this wonderful dinner? There is no food. Beyond the scope of subway, beyond the reach of McDonald’s… what could possibly await us? And yet we eat it. Insatiably. Such is our water.
Thank you for uploading it so fast.
You're welcome!
Young hollow... Do you still desire peace?
The feels are strong with this one
This hits harder than getting parry'ed
many monarchs have come and gone one drowned in poisen, another succumbed to flame.
still another slumbers in a realm of ice.
not one of them stood here, as you do now.
you, conqueror of adversities.
give us your answer.
By far the best theme of the classic Dark Souls 2 and one of the most touching when including the dlc's.
"Many monarchs have come and gone.
One drowned in poison, another succumbed to flame.
Still another slumbers in a realm of ice.
Not one of them stood here, as you do now.
You, conqueror of adversities.
Give us your answer."
I always love how sad Dark Souls final bosses themes are, it really makes you reflect on your journey and the tragedy hidden in the clash of swords
One thing I like about DkS2's theme is that, despite the set goals are ultimately tided with the grand scheme of others, the journey itself felt very personal and being about yourself.
Indeed, unlike ds1 and ds3 which are about the cycles of light and dark, ds2 is about the curse of hollowing and trying to find a way to overcome it
And we never heard from Aldia again. Hardly even a reference in DS3 but Earthen Peak gets a call back for some reason.
Aldia is likely referenced, but it is pretty subtle. Soul Geyser (which is a spell of Aldia's in DS2 according to its description) and Soul Stream (in DS3) have the same name in Japanese kanji, so they are meant to be the same spell. The description of Soul Stream says that the individual that teaches this spell is the first of the scholars who help found the Grand Archive, who doubted the linking of the fire, and secretly tutored Prince Lothric. Remind you of anyone? Also in the courtyard of the Grand Archive is a tree-like being holding an open book. A visage of Aldia perhaps? So the First Scholar, one of the 3 pillars of the King's rule, may very well have _been_ Aldia.
@@GuardianOwl Yeah, I know about all that. I meant tangibly. Something concrete. Yeah, it’s DS so things are often left up in the air… but we got DS2 laddersmith Gillian in DS3…?
You’d think at least in the Final DLC we’d get something about Aldia. You know the most important being in DS2, besides our own character. Like how about instead of that weird dead snake body in the Ashen Heep it was Aldia? But no. For our DS2 call back on the final bit of content EVER for the Dark Souls series… We got Earthen Peak.
@@TheG119YT There just probably wasn't more to be said of him, he lost his corporal body and only seemed to exist in the bonfire network. Perhaps the First Flame became too weak for him to emerge any longer. His legacy lives on via the choice of his student Prince Lothric to say "Nuts" to being the world's sacrificial lamb, likely based on Aldia's counsel.
The Goddess Caitha is also something that continued from DS2 to DS3 in the base game. She is mentioned on Caitha's Chime, Morne's Ring, Red Tearstone Ring, Blue Tearstone Ring, and the miracle Caressing Tears. Also indirectly referenced on Morne's Set and Tears of Denial. Morne served only the goddess Caitha and was an influential figure in Carim, Apostle to the Archbishop, that is probably the only reason Caitha's existence is still in the public conscious. Morne might have been someone else who was plucked from around the time of DS2 (like Gilligan and Creighton) and deposited in Carim.
I'm sure it's partly Earthen Peak because of the whole joke about how it is impossible for it to connect to the Iron Keep, but the real reason they probably included Earthen Peak is to get the desert pyromancer set (and Zoe) into DS3. They also pretty pointlessly callback to the Ruin Sentinels (just so they can steal their origin story), but the Ringed City provides more lore on Zullie via her set and further clarifies the relationship between her and Karla. Her phantom summoned by the Judicator uses a powered up version of the same spell that Karla sells, Dark Edge. It's description says that it is passed down from mother to child.
@@GuardianOwl Your missing my point.
I get that there is other DS2 representation, I know about the lore, I’ve read all all the descriptions you just cited.
What I’m saying is that, a character like Aldia someone so important… to not even get a named reference beyond some obscure Spell is pretty disappointing. And to my point. They bring back Zullie the witch and Avla… characters that weren’t even NPCs in DS2… FROM elaborated on their stories but not Aldia?
It’s just disappointing to have such a vital character from the Souls game forgotten about.
They did the same thing with Nito. But at least he was never an actual character like Aldia was.
One of the most underrated osts in all of Souls.
Gwyn was no lord of sunlight, he was the the father of monsters, the creator of despair, the bringer of death, the king of lies. And worst of all... he was the one who doomed this world to the ashes. Our “saviour” was the one who ensured our destruction...
In the end, Gwyn is no different from Human. Gwyn fears the unknown and changes, just like us human. He’s more human than he thought.
To be fair...how could've Gwyn known that things would turn out so bad? He literally linked the first flame 1000 years before we arrive at Lordran.
The consequences of his actions were unforeseeable.
Hey, Gwynn did the best he could to protect his fellow gods even to the point that he sacrificed himself for them
@@papoprimearchon9910 exactly, that's what makes souls games and Sekiro so compelling, they were just people fighting adversities how and with what they could.
I love these OST. It is the perfect representation of the cruel truth behind the world order in Dark Souls.
I think the resemblance to Gwyn's music is intentional, it symbolizes the sheer irony of how we previously perceived the Lord of Light. In the first part we felt sorry for him, we saw in him a brave martyr who sacrificed his existence to save the world from darkness. While Gwyn's music is supposed to give a feeling of sympathy and regret to his soulless, empty form, which we at the end fight, Aldia's music makes us realize who is the real victim in all this history - humanity, descendants of the insignificant Pygmy who found the most powerful of all souls - a dark soul.
Their future, their fate and heritage were stolen and trampled underfoot by a selfish ruler who, in order not to lose his heritage, betrayed humanity, who helped him fight the ancient dragons, and bind them in the fetters of light - the curse of the undead.
Can't stop listening.
“You, conquerer of adversities..give us your answer!”
I truly wish this boss was good gameplay wise so it could get the credit it deserves, as someone who plays these games mostly for the lore aldia showing up after nashandra was one of the best moments for me, and this theme is just amazing
Yeah, Aldia is fine gimmick wise, with his "Red Light, Green Light" of when you can attack him, I just wish he... did more? He flings fire at you, great. But didn't Aldia also create many a Sorcery? Shouldn't he cast those as well? I'd also appreciate if he cast Hexes, but because those run off of whichever is lower between Intelligence and Faith, of the latter Aldia has none, they do barely any damage.
@@ezekielbaskerville2710 I- I mean I guess the lore explanation for it is that the on-fire stump with a face & branches can't exactly utilize those in it's current state
Just heard this/fought him the other night for the first time
Changed my life. Beautiful
Aldia and Bearer of the Curse should've been in the End world in Dark souls 3 Ringed city. Because both of them found a way to cheat hollowing and it would've been cool if the game reads your memory files and summons your bearer of the curse as an enemy or ally when fighting Gael
Remember folks Bearer of the curse still roams these lands. even if they turned into endless piles of Ash
The only DS2 boss theme to evoke an emotional gut feeling in me.
Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of dark... what could possibly await? And yet we seek it, insatiably...
Such is our fate...
This theme is an absolute masterpiece!
Just beat him and Dark Souls 2 Sotfs with it... man what an incredible character! 🤯
DS1 and DS3 story feels like going on a mission as a chosen one to save the world
DS2 story feels like commentary on the nature of being human
That's why DS2 is so special; it feels more intimate and philosophical
A major plot point in Ds1 was The prophecy of the Chosen undead was a lie and Implies the age of fire Continuing Might not be a good thing and ds3 Straight up tells you continuing the age of fire is not a good thing And how it essentially ruined the world
I dislike that they dropped all subtlety in ds3
Plin Plin Plon is tragic, but this is Mega Tragic
The song says
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
"A Lie Will Remain A Lie"
You can just hear the tragedy and burden of his own wisdom in this piece
Such an amazing song..
Thank you for uploading this.
Where so many others play out a grand spectacle, at last I've heard true melancholy, and it is simply divine.
This is one of the very best compositions I've ever heard in videogames. It's indescribable. Very dark but also comforting in some way. It captures the spirit of Dark Souls perfectly.
Even while heavily flawed, this game cannot stop being beautiful and full of SOUL in it's own way just like the rest of the series.
One of the most beautiful moments in DS2.
Those vocals at 1:16... This is a great theme song, best boss theme I've heard by far, in my honest opinion.