@@NiCoNiCoNiCola Agreed, when Aldia speaks I can't help but feel such a horrid bitterness in his voice. A desperate longing for what could have been, destroyed long before he was even born.
@@PonderingSai I'm pretty sure Aldia was around that time The funniest thing is: a soulless monster he became has more passion than Gwyn, a being with a Great Soul
"Many monarchs have come and gone. One drowned in poison, another succumbed to the flames. Yet another one still slumbers deep beneath a realm of ice, but none of them stood where you are now.... Young Hollow, what will you choose? Light? Dark? Or something else entirely? Give us your answer..."
... Well. The Soul of Cinder has been laid low. Slave Knight Gael's millennia long fight for the blood of the dark soul of man has been completed. We have conquered everything this dying world could throw at us. And. We. Won. Nothing. Fellow Ash, let me explain to you the utter pointlessness of our struggle. It is common knowledge that sacrificing ourselves, to allow the first flame to shoulder just a while longer, is moot. An option not even worth considering. What about betrayal? Snuffing out the first flame, embracing the darkness. Humanity would remain subjugated by the first sin of the Lord of Sunlight, the Darksign. The darkness we allow to take its rightful place would be... incorrect, malformed, unnatural. And even then, when the flame reignites, the cycle would begin yet again, making it pointless. Master light and dark, become the Lord of Hollows? Please. Even if Yuria truly has no ulterior motives, and wouldn't just use us as puppets, what do we rule? A broken land full of mindless hollows, devoid of thought or feeling? We're too late. Thousands of years too late. Gwyn sealing away the true power of mankind happened so far back that the Ashen One has likely never even heard of legends of the time it took place. Gwyn himself is long dead as well, now one of the many souls that drives the First Flame's last defender. Our journey was doomed from the start.
Seriously disappointed that the last DLC of DS3 doesn't have a proper ending. Not a cutscene. Just ambitious dialogue from some half-dragon girl. Having Aldia's VA reprise his role and say a speech similar to this after you have vanquished Gael would really have the player stop and think that everything that human, god, dragon or demon kind has built will have crumbled under mounds of ash across the world. And during the last few lines of his monologue, the world behind the Ashen One will darken until only the bonfire, your only friend during the entire series, remains. As there will only be embers and endless nights.
I like the theory of how Gwyn himself realised he ruined everything, and when you fight him he’s not protecting the flame, he’s stopping you from making the same mistake he did.
Gwyn did realise that , but he did not care for humans and humanity , he feared dark and tried his best to seal it away , commanding even his children to lure men into keeping the flame alight. In short , gwyn became the very thing he swore to destroy , just like the dragons he could not let go of his age.
"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." Aldia, at Dragon Shrine
I think this might be the saddest final battle in all of Souls. Despite the inherent sadness of fighting Gwyn, Gehrman or Gael, you feel like there is a sense of relief there. You relieved an old warrior of their duty and you step forward to reshape the world the way you see fit. But fighting Aldia just feels hopeless. The whole game you have been learning of the cursed cycle that never ends, history that repeats itself in perpetuity, civilisations that rise and fall without meaning, people lost, gone mad or bloodthirsty. Everyone in this game just feels hopeless, a woman who fights just to remember her own name, a soldier who stakes his life on a fake relic, a crestfallen fighter who wishes the world would just die, a man who wakes up to a world he recognises none of, and barely seems surprised. Dark Souls 2 shows the consequences of the actions we take in the other games, is any of this even worth it? Will continuing this legacy really be a kindness to anyone? Aldia begs with you not to continue the suffering, to choose to end it, end the curse of flame and let the world know some kind of peace. But you don't listen, you usurp the former king of this land and come to face with the man who knows the true horror, and knows that in the end, even he is powerless to stop it. The world will continue, the suffering will continue, and it will likely go on forever....
No matter what you choose in DS2 DS3 will happen anyways The flame kinda faded, the undead curse disappeared (well, I assume it did), but suffering still exists
@@NiCoNiCoNiCola If you choose to not rekindle the flame in DS2 it doesn't matters, another hollow will rise and rekindle it to perpetuate the cycle, that's what we see in DS3: the flame being rekindled over and over again and the world distortion growing due to all those endless cycles.
@@NiCoNiCoNiCola thats why DS2 is amazing. If you take the Bearer of the Curse leaving the Throne of Want as canon, then it's *his* ending, not the *game's* ending. If you have received Vendrick's blessing, you are fully immune to hollowing whilst still being undead, making you truly immortal. Out of the reaches of Drangleic and further into the unknown, forging his own uncertain path as he goes. Not inherently "letting the flame die" as with the dark ending of DS1, but instead choosing to completely abandon the entire cycle and go in search of something new. BotC is definitely the most badass souls protagonist
@@carnictus23 I really hope all Soulsbornes after DS2 will have Bearer of the Curse as an invader. he would have maximum stats everywhere, maximum Faaram Set upgrades, use a Blue Flame and a Spear as weapons and also have literally every sorcery, miracle and pyromancy at his disposal You can't win him, but when he kills (he has to be the one to kill you, not environment or other enemies) you he leaves you a random set of items ranging from trash to some Moonlight Greatsword +15
I don't think so, bc the point is that what you chose doesn't matter. Someone will come and kindle the fire and usurp you of your Throne , what aldia wants is for you to see the truth of the world and see what you choose bc he is a true immortal you can see that he doesn't drop a soul bc he does not die.
I dont get it How can dark souls 2 have such a magnificent, phenomenal, fantastic, mind blowing theme and not get any attention whatsoever as the other games?
Well it was mostly because of the unfinished state and the downgrade it gets because of the troublesome development. Now the people just hate it because hating ds2 is part of the community. One of the things I despise about the community
Its that weird thing people seem to have where as long a sequel isnt uncannily similar to the last game that its bad, Metroid Fusion gets the same rep just because its more linear and, god forbid, cutscenes with text. Not to mention Miyazaki didnt really oversee the entire thing and only helped worked on it by the end of its development. Game is still good, it has this level of jank that makes it a cult classic where as DS 1 and 3 are staple titles. Its got iffy parts to its lore but in all honesty it would have fit really well into the overall narrative.
@@anthonyst-onge If you consider DS3 combat good then Nioh pvp is best tier game ever. No seriously, DS3 has great maps and design, but the combat is total bs.
God this is nice, I always forget how good sounding and terribly saddening Aldia's theme is, shame there aren't more remixes of it, it really is a gem. Thank you as always Tundra.
Honestly to me it sounds like a bad rip off of Gwyn's theme in the beginning, and a generic sad music in the middle. The end (like the last thirty seconds) are a step up but I don't know why I don't like the music overall, I find it... Discordant (I don't know if that's the right word in english, it is in french) :I I actually don't know why, to be clear, and I'm not trying to disprove your appreciation.
Yes. I like it even if the world layout and integration falls short of DS1, among other things, its a cool vibe of cycles and decay and forgetting ancient lore
Gwynevere, Gwyndolin, Anor Londo, NK, black knights, silver knights, giant sentinels, demons, Quelana, the Fair Lady, should have appeared in DS2, but the lead developer seems to despise the ds2 storyline. More seriously : it’s not a question of despising, although considering the treatment DS2 gave to DS1 it would be fair if he did, it’s just a question of not really fitting in. DS2 wanted to be its own story, it scrapped almost everything from DS1 (lore wise), do of course when the series had to be back on track to conclude the story of Gwyn, the first flame, and humanity, it was hard to integrate. It’s possible Miyazaki did despise DS2, what I’m saying is that wether or not he did DS2 would’ve been hard to meaningfully reference in a game that tried to give pay offs to DS1’s set ups (DS3), when DS2 didn’t try to build on much of said set ups. And for Aldia specifically : this vapid character would’ve had to be written again from the ground up given how shallow he really is. In DS2, all he does is be a mediocre foil to Vendrick, a sad parody of Seath, and a cool voice to deliver falsely deep lines that will have practically nothing of substance in them due to how obtusely and nonsensically cryptic they are, or how completely obvious and superfluous they are. If anything, I would’ve preferred to see some as of yet unknown character that was accointed with Vendrick and sent in the ringed city. Perhaps a third knight aside from Raime and Veldstaat, perhaps a mere squire that was the only one that escaped the fate of the over soldiers of Vendrick, and continued to try and fulfill his mission, etc.
@@nathanjora7627 i don't think they two give the same treatment to the previous game , staying in the same history but still trying to be "different" was a respect for the ds1 storyline , Ds2 bring some things to the table that ds3 completely ignores it , focusing only in trying to make us nostalgic of ds1
@@corbenalley8382 I don't really thinks he despise it , and i understand that is trying to follow his original history, but adding some more things of the ds2 would have been nice
Higor Alexandre « staying in the same history but still trying to be ‘’different’’ was a respect for the ds1 storyline » That’s what DS3 did, by providing good reasons for the similar structure to DS1, whilst still making things different thematically and narratively. DS2 ripped the « four bosses » second part of DS1, and indirectly ripped off the bosses of DS1 by trying to connecting them to bog standard bossfights that don’t have much in common with their inspiration despite trying to tie them in desperately through the souls dropped. Ripping things off without putting in the care to justify them and trying to pay lip service to the original by having your bosses be reincarnations of the previous ones, yet giving them completely inadequate themes that don’t match with the purpose and nature of the originals, isn’t respect, it’s vandalism. « Ds2 bring some things to the table that ds3 completely ignores » And DS1 brought a lot to the table (primordial serpents, gods, kiln of the first flame, Ornstein being dead, demons, etc) that DS2 completely ignores, the only exception in my list being demons, and even then we don’t technically see any demons, just chaos. « focusing only in trying to make us nostalgic of ds1 » Yeah, not at all like when DS2 only kept the sunbro covenant, or when it kept the BK weapons, or when it had every major boss be a reincarnation of the previous major bosses, or when it literally copy pasted a dead boss. Except DS3 does a lot more. First of all because it also tries to make us nostalgic of DeS ^^ But secondly because it doesn’t try to make us nostalgic of DS1, it tries to give closure to DS1’s story, something DS2 did not even attempt even if it copied entire chunks of its structure. Most of the game has nothing to do with DS1, or only very loosely. The four biggest nostalgic references to DS1 are the AW, Anor Londo, NK, and SoC’s second phase, pretty much everything else is very much new. And hell, these are all far more imaginative than just having the bosses drop a soul that loosely connect them to the previous game’s bosses. Just to be clear : I’m not saying I agree with what DS3 did to DS2, I actually think it would’ve been better if they had found a way to work DS2 in DS3. It’s just that even if I deplore that, I have to recognize that because DS2 distanced itself from DS1 so much, it would’ve been really difficult to give closure to DS1 all the whilst trying to work in the narrative mess that was DS2. And reciprocally, it would’ve been pretty hard to try and tie DS3 with DS1 if DS3 had tried to be a direct sequel to DS2 rather than a sequel to DS1.
@@aguy7566 It was an old man clinging to his illusion of godhood and refusing to let go, dooming the world and humanity, and forcing it into some unnatural shape to hold on to his glory just a little bit longer. Gwyn isn't a hero.
@@aguy7566 He sure saw himself as a hero. He was trying to save the world from the Abyss. But he destroyed the natural course of the world forever. He created the curse of the undead with the Darksign. He killed the dragons and locked away their knowledge. He started an infinite cycle of Fire and Dark with literally no escape from it. You choose Fire? It will eventually fade. You let the Fire fade? It will rekindle over and over and over again. In DS3 you have to force all the Lords of Cinder to link the fire again. They are tired. The world is tired,. At the end everything is literally ash. All the kingdoms merged together. And when you fight Soul of Cinder he comes one final time to fight you, he's still protecting the First Flame. His spirit or the embodiment of who he was still wants to prolong the eternal cycle and the suffering. He's an Anti Hero.
Genuinely really cool; it really carries a deep emotional weight to it. This is probably my favorite OST edit from you, so far. I've always loved Aldia's theme, and this alteration is hauntingly beautiful.
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!
Gwyn ? Yep, his motivations make sense, his legacy is complex, etc. Aldia ? No, not really. It’s one of the worst actually. Shallow, nonsensical, and useless. He’s just a cool voice with cool sounding dialogues that either don’t mean much, or are platitudes. Vendrick is a much better character. Edit : sorry for the repost, my internet lagged multiple time and it ended up in this mess.
Nathan Jora saying that severely understates Aldia’s character. Aldia was one of the few people to sympathize for humans and attempted to guide them at times and while he was cruel to other beings and creatures in his days of study, he was pretty much removed from the realm of deities purely because he attempted to find a cure for the curse. In the end, he was unable to do so, thus he leaves the bearer of the curse to make his own decision as to prolong the cycle further or let it crumble into nothing. He doesn’t encourage either, but he proposes the idea of both and simply watches in curiosity. Aldia is not shallow or nonsensical and for you to say his dialogues don’t mean much is to take a very literal perspective of the games and the real world as well. Think about how those words would actually play into effect in the mind of a hollowing warrior who doesn’t really know what they’re doing or why they’re there. For some, Aldia may be considered a lure towards the dark and for others, he may be a source of enlightenment for humans. However, he is not “nonsensical” or “shallow” and by FAR is not one of the worst characters.
@@3thandana "Aldia was one of the few people to sympathize for humans and attempted to guide them at times and while he was cruel to other beings and creatures in his days of study, he was pretty much removed from the realm of deities purely because he attempted to find a cure for the curse." ... Aldia was a human. Vendrick's brother. Both humans. And it's never said that Aldia attempted to find a cure for the curse, that'd be Vendrick, Aldia only studied it, wether to cure it, satisfy his own curiosity, or find some knowledge he could use for his personal benefit. As for being cruel to other beings : yes, first and foremost : humans. "thus he leaves the bearer of the curse to make his own decision as to prolong the cycle further or let it crumble into nothing. He doesn’t encourage either, but he proposes the idea of both and simply watches in curiosity." The thing is that he doesn't say that. First, because he tries to prevent you form seizing the throne, even though he contradictorily wants you to seize it, and second of all because he doesn't seem to "think either choice is good "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…" "Seek light, Dark, and what lies beyond…" "Aldia is not shallow or nonsensical and for you to say his dialogues don’t mean much is to take a very literal perspective of the games and the real world as well." No, I say that because no real meaning can be discerned from much of what he said, because there are so many metaphors, figures of speech, etc, to the point that most of it could just as well be gibberish. When you say something that can be interpreted in many contradictory ways, many just as plausible despite being contradictory, you aren't saying anything. It's true for him, as it's true for many people in real life. How do we know so many politicians' discourses are shallow ? Because what they say when analyzed has so many unspecified ideas in it, where you can put whatever you want without any kind of certitude as to what was meant, that the message can be interpreted to suit whatever narrative most pleases you, and therefore doesn't mean anything. The same goes for Aldia. "Think about how those words would actually play into effect in the mind of a hollowing warrior who doesn’t really know what they’re doing or why they’re there" Yeah, I do, which is another reason why I think Aldia's discourse is shallow. If he wants to be understood, which he should considering that he is talking to us, then he should try to be clear, he shouldn't try to veil his informations, advices, and opinions, under a veil of needless metaphors. Especially if you consider that you're hollowing, meaning that you'll be confused. Except of course wether or not you're hollowing isn't even a certitude, either because you've re-gained some sort of purpose, or found human effigies, or hell even got Vendrick's blessing and are now immune to the curse. "For some, Aldia may be considered a lure towards the dark and for others, he may be a source of enlightenment for humans. However, he is not “nonsensical” or “shallow” and by FAR is not one of the worst characters." He is one of the worst characters precisely because he is so vapid and shallow and says so few things of real substance that he is a placeholder for anything the player wants to see in him. Unknowingly, you've just summed up one of the biggest problem of Aldia : he stands for nothing. Not in the sense that he holds no position, like some kind of nihilist or whatever, but that despite apparently stating what his views are, his words don't help in expressing his view of the world, despite the fact that it's their goal, which ends up in a character that's saying anything the player wants to hear, which makes him shallow. He isn't a character, like Vendrick, he is a puppet and a bunch of keys that the developers are waving in front of the player in the hope that they'll found some sort of meaning in him despite the fact that he himself doesn't bring anything of substance to the table. And it's not like Gwyn, where 1)the reason why we can't figure him out is because he was gone for so long that there aren't enough records of what his views were, and of the few people that knew him and are still alive, none can really be trusted fully, 2) there is still a coherent pattern to his action that allow us to make a few conclusions as to what he stood for (the age of light, at the very least his family and the other gods, wasn't needlessly cruel as a general rule but could still have been either superstitious or constrained by his court, acted to minimize the influence of the dark, but not directly by killing, fought his battles, etc). So yes, Aldia is one of the worse characters, because he is meaningless, his motivations are needlessly unclear, his words are obtusely obscure, and what he says is so confused probably precisely so that the players can insert whatever they want in it, and although I can accept that for worldbuilding purposes, to have the imagination of the players run wild, I can't accept that for a character whose whole presence in game is justified by being an exposition dumper. Pfiou, there, answered, sorry that I took so much time ^^ ... One day ? It was only one day ago that you've answered me ? Gwyndamn, I didn't know I received so many messages °_°
@@nathanjora7627 no one is gonna read that, you're building a shitty case. Aldia is tenfold times better a character than Gwyn, and I'm not going to argue with you to explain why since you seem so incessant on your character bashing nonsense, it's objective
@@carnictus23 *Reads pseudo* *reads both that nobody is gonna read but also an "observation" on what I wrote* Hhmm... Not sure but I'll go for "troll" If you aren't, then funny that you bothered to respond to a comment you think nobody will read ^^
@@freshlymemed5680 And then, by exstenion, making the darkness eternal. Before the linking, the age of dark would have ended, like the age of fire and ancients before it. Yet by linking the fire, Gwyn prevented not just the end of fire, but the end of dark too.
@@freshlymemed5680 However, as we see in the game, the fire keeps getting weaker and weaker. eventually, it will become so pitiful that no light will exist. Yet because it is linked, and cannot permantly die, the age of dark will also never end
@@dadab22 The age of ancients also didn't end naturaly. it wasn't fated to end cause it doesn't exist within the cycle. That's why Aldia wanted to break the cycle by reviving the ancient dragons. Cause as we know they aren't truly dead they just left their bodies die in the war due to their nature as it says in the Dragon eye in Dark souls 1. At the end he only casted himelf away from the cycle unable to change the world
It's sad that those idiots gave SOTFS so much hate which caused Miyazaki to give minimal connections from DSII to DSIII, despite it being the most rich and deep in lore out of all three games
@@pineapple8934 Deadly premonition is another game that is worth it for its story and characters even if its game play is god awful. Even the devs knew the gunplay was so hot garbage that they hand out infinite ammo guns like candy.
DS2 plot development on the foundations of DS1 really make it deserving of a nice remake. Imagine 360 movement and rolling, powerstancing, overhauled bosses and combat, complete retexture and a new lightning engine. Maybe even throw in some of the original map concepts for areas that were fucked up by time constraints. It'd be dope.
I want to see bluepoint, the people behind the demons souls remake remake dark souls 2. Imagine the amount of work which would get put in, the secrets they could add, the things they could fix, the areas which would feel better, the combat which would feel smoother! It would be beautiful, dark and morose still, but the graphics, the lighting, everything would just be so… amazing.
@@anwd8646 I wouldn’t like blue point to due it they took a lot of atmosphere from environments, designs, and even straight up removed the most iconic piece of music from it
@@maniac7302 I wouldn’t know that, I never played the original, nor did I hear much about it. I saw the remake and compared that to what little of the original I knew and I was just… blown away. They did very, very bloody well with making it, no doubt. The critical attacks and spells looked fantastic, and while our favourite cat was removed from the cat ring, they did reference it with a missing poster in the credits! Also they gave us a point to new game plus cycles, the penetrator armour set obtained through a pretty difficult process. Also I’m just going to sneak in my obligatory reference to the love I have for dark souls 2s new game plus cycles. It’s the only souls game to do something meaningful with them.
@@anwd8646I don't want bluepoint, yes they did a great job modernising des, but they did just that without adding the cut content, I want the cut content of ds2 in it's remake
@@nathanjora7627 He desperately wanted to end the cycle of the world and the undead curse which were inflicted upon the world by Gwyn who linked the fire because he feared the dark and wanted to preserve his age of light however Aldia went a bit crazy in the process and he created a whole bunch of abominations which then earned him a exile from Vendrick. Aldia was then isolated in his keep as he continued his experiments which eventually led to Aldia becoming immortal and the gross fire blob that we all know and love (or dislike in your case). Citation: Just look up all his dialogue on UA-cam
Al Fall 2007 « and the undead curse which were inflicted upon the world by Gwyn » His dialogues say literally the opposite, that the normal life humans experience when they aren’t undead is a lie concocted by Gwyn. And as far as I know, Aldia studied the curse, the fire, and the ages, but wether he wanted to end them or pursue them is unclear. He does say that « no matter how exquisite, a lie remains a lie », but he almost immediately follows it by a statement that can be interpreted as « But I want to conserve this lie ». You didn’t provide citation though. « Aldia went a bit crazy in the process and he created a whole bunch of abominations which then earned him a exile from Vendrick » Citation needed for the exile part, and the chronology, when do we learn that Aldia started off nice and ended up torturing a whole bunch of things when he was drove mad, rather than being a psychopath with no ethic since the beginning ? « that we all know and love (or dislike in your case) » I prefer to say « passionately hate » ^^ « Citation: Just look up all his dialogue on UA-cam » I did, hence why I don’t think it’s possible to precisely determine Aldia’s ideology either. It’s precisely why I hate aldia, because I think his dialogues are needlessly cryptic in order to hide how shallow and uninformative they are. I don’t hate him ´cause he is evil/a criminal. I hate him because his dialogues could’ve been as good as Vendrick’s (which aren’t the greatest in the world, but certainly amongst the best in terms of info dumps in DS2), but were instead as horrible as... his.
@@nathanjora7627 1. Aldia's dialogue in the Dragon Shrine states that he"tried to shed the yolk of fate" that "fate" being the fate of the undead mentioned by Oscar in the first game which is the fate to link the fire (or abandon it) which shows that he tried to end the cycle at least to an extent; and about your point on"no matter how exquisite, a lie remains a lie" quote and how the line right after contradicts it, in all due respect I don't understand what you're talking about because the line he says right after it is a *question* Aldia asks the protag on if they want to preserve the peace knowing the truth behind it and how it was caused by Gwyn defying the nature of the world("Young Hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?"-Aldia's dialogue in the Undead Crypt). Going to your first point on how the lie was the life humans live without the undead curse.....Yeah you got me there but in my defense it is implied in the Ringed City DLC for DS3 that the creation of the curse is somehow tied to Gwyn or the gods in general with the Ringed Knight Armor's item description saying "the gods cast a seal of fire (the darksign) upon such armor, and those who possessed them" 2. The exile part comes from the "Aldia Key" item description which states that "King Vendrick condemned his own elder brother(Aldia) to the mansion". On your point about how we don't know if Aldia was always a insane scientist well The Aldia Hammer's item description state that "Lord Aldia was the King's elder brother and helped found Drangleic, but he later lost interest in the land's fortunes" this line implies that he DID once have interest in the land's fortunes and wanted to help the kingdom before he became obsessed with the first sin (I know this line can be interpreted as Aldia being greedy but that can be disputed with how it is known that Aldia and Vendrick tried to recreate an ancient dragon to cure the curse as evidenced by the bone shield's item description and the Emerald Herald's dialogue). Citations: soulslore.wikidot.com/data:aldia soulslore.wikidot.com/data:oscar-knight-of-astora darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Ringed+Knight+Armor darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Aldia+Key darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Aldia+Hammer soulslore.wikidot.com/data:emerald-herald P.S: Thanks for not being a asshole in your reply because I have seen way too much of that on this site and at the end of the day this is just a video game character
@@alfalldoot6715 "1. Aldia's dialogue in the Dragon Shrine states that he"tried to shed the yolk of fate" that "fate" being the fate of the undead mentioned by Oscar in the first game which is the fate to link the fire (or abandon it) which shows that he tried to end the cycle at least to an extent" I'd disagree. In context, he speaks once of fate (fate of the undead, which is to either inherit the world, or destroy it, showing that he didn't try to end the cycle, but find an alternative to either dark or light, which would end the cycle of course but is still something different from either endings proposed) ,and he speaks of breaking the yoke of flesh and the yoke of fate. He spoke about yoke when he talked about how humans were bound by the yoke of having flesh or whatever, and the wonderful illusion of life, which this time would respectively mean that he wanted to transcend his corporeal form, or that he tried to end the light, or something like that... Except in context it's hard to see how it'd be a fate ? (maybe that's just my english comprehension though, but in my defense the french translation ; which is the one I had the game in ; doesn't help clarify one bit, unlike habitually). I think that if we really wanted to make a case for Aldia having an actual ideal (although it wouldn't help us at all in determining exactly what it is, or how he intended to get it) we should look instead at his last piece of dialogue "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.". But that could be interpreted as yet another fate as the other two previously mentioned, since this time it's not a question of searching something beyond light and dakr, it's not a question of breaking the illusion of life, it's... Stop having to search for a third path ? "about your point on"no matter how exquisite, a lie remains a lie" quote and how the line right after contradicts it, in all due respect I don't understand what you're talking about because the line he says right after it is a question" "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. Young Hollow, are you intent on shattering the yoke, spoiling this wonderful falsehood?" That's his question. In context, it seems to me like he's trying to tell us it wouldn't be a good thing. I guess what I'm trying to say is that in context it seems to me unclear wether this argument is rhetorical or not. "in my defense it is implied in the Ringed City DLC for DS3 that the creation of the curse is somehow tied to Gwyn or the gods in general with the Ringed Knight Armor's item description saying "the gods cast a seal of fire (the darksign) upon such armor, and those who possessed them" " In your defense Aldia's dialogue are cancer -_- Okay, sorry, I'll stop hating on this poor character for a second : Yeah, sure, the armor does imply that, although to be fair, the seal of fire might've been inspired by the dark sign just as much as the other way around. That's one way where I would've wanted DS3 to be more explicit, because even in context I don't find that piece of info useful enough to justify its existence. For example, it does imply that the gods had something to do with the origin of the dark sign, and that it might not be "natural". But the thing is that we are never told of a potential purpose for the dark sign, whereas we are told of a purpose for the seal of fire, namely protect the world from the abyss in which the ringed knights' gear was crafted. The problem that this creates is that we don't really see an analogue for the darksign, unless we're supposed to believe that the only reason modern humans can wield the power of the dark without going full Manus is thanks to the darksign ? ... Do you see my problem ? I'm not sure I was being clear, and it doesn't have much to do with our discussion anyway >< "2" Thanks a bunch for all of this, I had either forgotten them or not read them :) In my defense, they weren't in the dialogues you told me to consult :P More seriously though, I really can't recall it for the hammer, despite the fact that I know I've read this item's description like... a month ago ? (in french though. Maybe that's why there is a discrepancy, but I can't find any french wiki on which to check the description of the item, so I'll add that to the long list of items I'll have to read the description of next time I'll play the game) And thanks for providing sources also, that's very civil of you :) Usually people don't take me too seriously when I ask for sources, when I actually do like them a lot ^^ Although if there was any need to continue our conversation, know that you can just give me the name of the item, or the name of the character whose dialogues you're referencing, I'll search them up myself. I'm thankful for putting in more than the minimum effort though, it's just to make sure you know you don't have to :) "P.S: Thanks for not being a asshole in your reply" I don't know if you meant that as a demand (in which case I hope I fulfilled it, and my apologies if I was an asshole previously) or as a thank for my last comment (in which case you're welcomed), but I'll thank you for having been polite thusfar anyway, thanks :) "at the end of the day this is just a video game character" BUt iT's dARk SoUlS II ! o_O More seriously : sure. I hate Aldia, but it's not like it's cause for me to act like a prick toward you just for that :I
Aldia is the reason that da2 is my favourite. No other dark souls game truly made me thing of the WHY of it all. The reason the world is the way it is. Yes dark souls one tells you, but dark souls 2 makes you question it
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?
Legend says Nathan Jora is still lurking, hoping for his next chance to defend Gwyn fiercely if you talk about Aldia in the comments or DARE spread anything but hatred towards DS2.
But he's mostly true though. People always express different understanding of souls lore, like some say Gwyn is responsible for the never ending cycle of fire and dark and this is bad, or if Gwyn didn't link the fire it would naturally reignite one day after the age of dark that was supposed to come and now it won't (so basically he broke the cycle, contrary to the previous belief), but anyways Gwyn is shitter and what he done to the world is bad. This is just ridiculuous. Honestly feel bad for the man.
Staring out into the Ashen waste, the very end of time itself being nothing more than ruined skeletons of buildings buried in dust finally breaks the ashen one in the way no enemy could. We’re it not for the Gael’s soul inhabiting their body and the sense of purpose in completing his mission it would have hollowed them then and there. The fire, the abyss, their journey so far, the life they led before, their first attempt at linking, what was it all for?! The Ashen one realizes they’re now screaming this into the horizon but do not stop. “Well?! What was it all for? A painting? That may rot and decay like all the ones before it?! Like the world I have endured so many deaths for?! It doesn’t matter does it?! It didn’t the moment they marked us with their contemptible fire! Damn you Gwyn! Damn you and all the gods! May your precious fire sear you for all eternity even after I let it go out! And even that won’t free me or anyone else from this hell you’ve forced upon us!” The ashen one’s words echoed across the landscape as the Ashen one collapsed onto their arms and knees. “Damn it…Pull yourself together.” He chastised himself as he finished his journey to the bonfire. For now, He had a little girl to give an important present to.
this shit here is why I love dark souls so much, the sheer hopeless but undoubtedly beautiful world that these games have crafted is so masterful, easily my favorite video game world of all time
Honestly, the story of dark souls resonates with me on a level that few other mediums do; primarily when peering ahead into the future for humanity. I want to believe that we can brighten the dark abyss in front of us, but the more I learn about the truth of the world and how many unsung heroes we have already sacrificed to the machine of capitalism I cannot help but doubt my optimism. The solutions exist right before us, but those with power to execute them are ignorant and uncaring, hopelessly clinging on to their power like Gwyn did. Whatever the future holds for us, only one thing will matter: *Whatever you do, do not go hollow my friend.*
Man, Dark souls 2 is shit, but Dark souls 2 Scholar of The First Sin is well written and lore that tells you more of the world and how the endings never matter, there will always be someone to reignite the first flame, or what if you chose something different. "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! "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 lost everything, and remain 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."
The Soul the source of life itself, The torture through which none can delve, A Curse befell the world the day, The Lords Imposed their sway. From Fire born, the dragons dead, Bound in shackles that none can shed, Doomed to face the doors of Death, But life renewed with each found breath. Link the Fire, or walk away, Or a Dark Lord, now fit to reign, This choice of yours, it matters not, Many fools die at this very spot. The path is seen in the scope of Light, And the reach of Dark now takes flight, To find true Souls, honest and kind, To make beings that none can bind. Claim your purpose, a sovereign true, Light or Dark, whatever your Want will do, Your Soul will fade, but be carried unwillingly through, Though, could you hope that, instead, a love might come find you? All have believed in this illusion of life, And prompted some to endure great strife, We yearn for more than this world, to us, can sate, Yet we seek it... Insatiably... Such is our fate...
Aldia was right. At the end of DS3 everything, even the “dark” was burned away to ash. Should of forsaken the flame long ago. Age of Dark is officially the “good” endings.
There is no good ending in Dark Souls, in the end, what is the use of eternal peace if we are only animals without brains, what is the use of living a life with emotions and will if it is only suffering? the world of dark souls no matter what you do there will always be suffering,
Could you imagine, at the end of Dark souls 3, you've defeated the Lord of Cinder, and once more, Aldia's voice from out of the blue comes into the light...
did gwyn really ruin everything or has lordran,lothric, or whatever you want to call that time diluted place, been fucked since the start of time. Everything is one in lordran.
it annoys me greatly they just tossed both aldia and the serpents aside for ds3. the serpents only get a damn mention and nothing more like wtf? wasnt their whole scheming a big part of ds1 story? did they jsut say eh it didnt work and just left? and i mean just have the outttro of ds3 last dlc be narrated by aldia saying his piece how everything is feeble and in the end let it all just burn out
Why did aldia need to be in ds3? The serpents I get, but you find statues of them in the ringed city. I think the idea is that they have been lost to the passage of time, nobody remembers them. Same with aldia
To clarify a bit more : as far as we know, Gwyn did two things wrong : not giving enough credit to the ringed knights, and raising Gwyndolin as a girl. Aside from that, everything he did is either good, or undetermined.
@@nathanjora7627 I think a major issue with judging Gwyn's character is that you basically need to disregard what both Primordial Serpents are saying; they're both probably lying in some ways.
Arvid Axelsson Well, not really. They are lying, but as far as I know they are only lying by omission. Frampt tells you to take Gwyn place, and... well, he intends for you to take Gwyn place, that’s for sure. Kaathe tells you that Gwyn rebelled against nature in fear of the dark and the dark lord, and... that’s probably true. Because the dark sucks big time. He tells you to become the dark lord and usher in the age of dark that he labels the age of men, and insofar that men are the inheritors of the dark soul, that’s true... but he doesn’t mention how humans are woefully incompatible with the dark. Etc. Personally I don’t think we have to disregard what they say. We should be cautious, because lying by omission or not they are still dishonest as heck, but it’s ironically completely possible that neither told a lie. If I don’t misremember, which admittedly I could ^^
@@nathanjora7627 Yeah, you've got a point. I still think Kaathe is outright lying, but a lot of it is definitely of the "by omission" variety. On a side-note, I'm actually of the opinion that DS3 would have been a lot more interesting if, instead of *literally* repeating the beats from DS1, you started the game in Londor. Basically, the Sable Church would be your main hub and someone like Yuria would be your level-up lady. Usurpation of Fire would be the railroaded ending, with Link and End being options. Ultimately, the thesis of the story would be how much the serpents are dishonest scumbags and no true age of Humanity can really begin with them still pulling the strings. Also, I would make Soul of Cinder a character with dialogue (this is partly inspired by a leaked early version of the story that I think Lance talked about at some point). It would be interesting if we even got direct dialogue with Gwyn through him. Even if all we get is basically just "I regret nothing lol".
Arvid Axelsson « more interesting if, instead of literally repeating the beats from DS1 » ... But you don’t. In DS1, you have to go to two things (each bell), then you go through a chokepoint (sen’s fortress and then Anor Londo), then you can go in four different directions, then you end up to the final boss. In terms of beat, apart from the fact that you kill four bosses and end up with SoC, DS3 isn’t very similar to DS1, because of how linear it is. Honestly I’d prefer if it had been more like DS1, or at least DeS, in this regard because maybe then AW could’ve been the master piece of a boss it should’ve been, rather than the proportionally weak boss it was >< « you started the game in Londor » Hhmm... No, not me. Maybe in a DLC, but honestly I think it’s better to start in a neutral ground rather than something that belongs to one particular faction. « Usurpation of Fire would be the railroaded ending » ... No, that I am completely against. It’d go against the whole point of having the normal ending be the « keep things as they are » ending. « the thesis of the story would be how much the serpents are dishonest scumbags » I’m not sure it’d be really interesting as the main point of the story, I think it’d be better to leave that up to the player rather than having it being heavy ended. Personally I like the fact that the serpents could be completely truthful and just framing things differently. « no true age of humanity can really begin with them still pulling the strings » That’s... more something I could agree with, although again I don’t think it should be the central point, because of the risk of being too on the nose. What I’d rather do, going on the same line of reasoning, is to have the story be about « do we need an age of man, and what would it entail ? ». Because as such... the age of light was mostly an age of man. Mankind was the dominant force of history in this world, even with Gwyn being the guy who kickstarted it all. « I would make Soul of Cinder a character with dialogue » I wouldn’t, but instead you could have SoC be the second phase of the boss (or hell, even the second and third phase), and the first phase be the last linker of fire, which could have dialogues ? It wouldn’t really work though considering how much time needs to have went by for that to work. « It would be interesting if we even got direct dialogue with Gwyn through him » Honestly I’d like that, a lot... but it’s the kind of thing where I don’t have enough confidence in the developers to give a dialogue that’d better than what we could imagine. I think that SoC is good as it is, personally I’d rather change the bosses previous to him. Like NK. NK should’ve had dialogues, and be non hollowed. We should’ve fought him as the Titan he was, and he should’ve given us insight on his fate and his father. Honestly I think that NK is perhaps the most wasted boss of all, closely followed by AW, Dancer and Vordt. Edit : speaking of dialogues, Gwyndolin could’ve had some. I don’t think it would’ve been a problem if, upon death, he had said something like « Thank you, unkindled, I expected no less of your kind », or something like that. Maybe he could even say « Thank you knightess [instead of « unkindled », to show the affection he had for her], see that Yorshka be safe ». Plenty of people describe Gwyndolin as arrogant, but hearing his dialogues he seems... well, rather respectful and kind, for someone who was raised as a god, royalty, and son of the most powerful soul to ever live.
By that you mean ruining the cycle of nature? You know even Aldia himself says the option to stop the Fire Linking is there right? With Dark Souls 3 "End of fire" ending it is implied that after the age of Dark there will be a new age where no one will suffer after what Gwyn did by linking the fire and cause the curse that pretty much messed the world In a nutshell, pretty much Gwyn ruined everything when letting the world ruin it naturally would cause soo much less suffering than what he did
Gwyn didn't "ruin " anything. The only reason "anything" existed is because of gwyn and the first flame in the first place. Go back to nothing if you hate it. The grey of the ancients or the darkness of the abyss.
@@nathanjora7627 probably just Sharing his opinion I suppose. Personally, I disagree with it, DS2 is my favourite of the games I've played, but I do understand why others disagree with me on it.
NotVeryImmortal It could be your favorite and the worst, or your least favorite yet the best, the two aren’t necessarily linked. And yes, I know he is just sharing his opinion, my question is why. It’s not like the video particularly called for such a comment, and his comment isn’t even constructive. I have my share of qualms with this game, especially with the story and characters, especially with Aldia that I hate (as a character, not as a person. I mean, he is also a shitty person, but that’s not the reason I despise him), but I won’t go around randomly saying that I don’t like it, or that it’s the worst. I have the same problem with the DS2 fans that’ll go around saying that it’s the best game even if there is no reason to say such a thing (and I don’t mean to say that there aren’t any reason to say DS2 is the best, I mean to say that the video they are commenting under has nothing to do even remotely with the quality of the game). I don’t know, unjustified praises and condemnations that bring nothing beyond the judgement of good or bad bug me for some reason :/
Estra I... am not sure how that‘s fair, but eh... good to know you didn’t give up on DS2 ? Maybe ? I didn’t really mind her you qualified DS2 of being the worst DS game, I’d agree with that, it’s just the fact that it was completely uncalled for that bugged me :|
Sir Alonnes theme but it gets louder/angrier as you make the floor more dirty
I always wanted to do something Sir Alonnes theme but it is hard to get something to sound good. I will give it another shot though!
@@Tundrarich I look forward to it!
@@thecherrypi9718 he didn't
:c
@@collorfull_00 lol
“A lie, will remain a lie!”
Humanity was born of darkness and in darkness we shall rule
Pure rage in that line was beautiful
@@NiCoNiCoNiCola Agreed, when Aldia speaks I can't help but feel such a horrid bitterness in his voice. A desperate longing for what could have been, destroyed long before he was even born.
@@PonderingSai I'm pretty sure Aldia was around that time
The funniest thing is: a soulless monster he became has more passion than Gwyn, a being with a Great Soul
"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."
"Many monarchs have come and gone. One drowned in poison, another succumbed to the flames. Yet another one still slumbers deep beneath a realm of ice, but none of them stood where you are now.... Young Hollow, what will you choose? Light? Dark? Or something else entirely? Give us your answer..."
I chose to walk away with my crown, hopping that someone will put an end to the cycle in the far future.
@@specter521 DS3 spits on you with that.
@@ExtremeMan10 except it doesn't, lol. there's a End The Cycle ending.
@@shirouhayashi3319 Except it does lol. There is no end cycle.
@@ExtremeMan10 yes there is. 3 of the 4 endings involve ending the cycle of fire.
... Well.
The Soul of Cinder has been laid low. Slave Knight Gael's millennia long fight for the blood of the dark soul of man has been completed.
We have conquered everything this dying world could throw at us.
And.
We.
Won.
Nothing.
Fellow Ash, let me explain to you the utter pointlessness of our struggle. It is common knowledge that sacrificing ourselves, to allow the first flame to shoulder just a while longer, is moot. An option not even worth considering.
What about betrayal? Snuffing out the first flame, embracing the darkness. Humanity would remain subjugated by the first sin of the Lord of Sunlight, the Darksign. The darkness we allow to take its rightful place would be... incorrect, malformed, unnatural. And even then, when the flame reignites, the cycle would begin yet again, making it pointless.
Master light and dark, become the Lord of Hollows? Please. Even if Yuria truly has no ulterior motives, and wouldn't just use us as puppets, what do we rule? A broken land full of mindless hollows, devoid of thought or feeling?
We're too late. Thousands of years too late. Gwyn sealing away the true power of mankind happened so far back that the Ashen One has likely never even heard of legends of the time it took place. Gwyn himself is long dead as well, now one of the many souls that drives the First Flame's last defender. Our journey was doomed from the start.
This, this has to be in DS 3. A last reminder of how hopeless our journey was the moment Gwyn rekindle the flame.
Amazing writing. I can imagine Aldia saying this
Seriously disappointed that the last DLC of DS3 doesn't have a proper ending. Not a cutscene. Just ambitious dialogue from some half-dragon girl. Having Aldia's VA reprise his role and say a speech similar to this after you have vanquished Gael would really have the player stop and think that everything that human, god, dragon or demon kind has built will have crumbled under mounds of ash across the world. And during the last few lines of his monologue, the world behind the Ashen One will darken until only the bonfire, your only friend during the entire series, remains. As there will only be embers and endless nights.
The truth is, the game was rigged from the start
@@mortache fallout new Vegas reference 😏 I like this guy
I like the theory of how Gwyn himself realised he ruined everything, and when you fight him he’s not protecting the flame, he’s stopping you from making the same mistake he did.
It would be cool and sad af if it was that way,but nah bro Gwyn isn't there anymore,he is hollow as fuck,only a vessel of what he was remains
@@corvoattano5203 gods cannot be hollowed. He is just burned as hell. He looks hollowish not hollow
@@ahmetwalker9593 He is no god but a little man scared of the dark
@@corvoattano5203 wtf bro, homeboy has every right to fear the dark
Gwyn did realise that , but he did not care for humans and humanity , he feared dark and tried his best to seal it away , commanding even his children to lure men into keeping the flame alight. In short , gwyn became the very thing he swore to destroy , just like the dragons he could not let go of his age.
I made the transitions as unsettling as possible, have fun
can you upload a set tone of this it would be beautiful
@@ApacheVibes Sure if others wish for it, what time would you want the tone from this video?
can you upload this to wallpaper engine with the music?
@@Tundrarich honestly just the first or second time you lowered it
@@deaconp2617 Damn I deleted the video file, but perhaps someone could simply download the video and upload it?
"You must inherit the order of this world or destroy it"- Aldia, Scholar of the First Sin
Or choose something else entirely.
"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."
Aldia, at Dragon Shrine
I still think about these words till this day.
Which would you prefer a comforting lie, or a painful truth?
That is the whole theme of persona 4
@@Nazo-kage Hard to say, but probably a painful truth. A lie will remain a lie.
A full death in truth is better than a half life in lies
No matter how tender how excuisite a lie will remain a lie.
I think this might be the saddest final battle in all of Souls. Despite the inherent sadness of fighting Gwyn, Gehrman or Gael, you feel like there is a sense of relief there. You relieved an old warrior of their duty and you step forward to reshape the world the way you see fit. But fighting Aldia just feels hopeless. The whole game you have been learning of the cursed cycle that never ends, history that repeats itself in perpetuity, civilisations that rise and fall without meaning, people lost, gone mad or bloodthirsty. Everyone in this game just feels hopeless, a woman who fights just to remember her own name, a soldier who stakes his life on a fake relic, a crestfallen fighter who wishes the world would just die, a man who wakes up to a world he recognises none of, and barely seems surprised. Dark Souls 2 shows the consequences of the actions we take in the other games, is any of this even worth it? Will continuing this legacy really be a kindness to anyone?
Aldia begs with you not to continue the suffering, to choose to end it, end the curse of flame and let the world know some kind of peace. But you don't listen, you usurp the former king of this land and come to face with the man who knows the true horror, and knows that in the end, even he is powerless to stop it. The world will continue, the suffering will continue, and it will likely go on forever....
No matter what you choose in DS2 DS3 will happen anyways
The flame kinda faded, the undead curse disappeared (well, I assume it did), but suffering still exists
@@NiCoNiCoNiCola If you choose to not rekindle the flame in DS2 it doesn't matters, another hollow will rise and rekindle it to perpetuate the cycle, that's what we see in DS3: the flame being rekindled over and over again and the world distortion growing due to all those endless cycles.
@@NiCoNiCoNiCola thats why DS2 is amazing. If you take the Bearer of the Curse leaving the Throne of Want as canon, then it's *his* ending, not the *game's* ending. If you have received Vendrick's blessing, you are fully immune to hollowing whilst still being undead, making you truly immortal. Out of the reaches of Drangleic and further into the unknown, forging his own uncertain path as he goes. Not inherently "letting the flame die" as with the dark ending of DS1, but instead choosing to completely abandon the entire cycle and go in search of something new. BotC is definitely the most badass souls protagonist
@@carnictus23 I really hope all Soulsbornes after DS2 will have Bearer of the Curse as an invader. he would have maximum stats everywhere, maximum Faaram Set upgrades, use a Blue Flame and a Spear as weapons and also have literally every sorcery, miracle and pyromancy at his disposal
You can't win him, but when he kills (he has to be the one to kill you, not environment or other enemies) you he leaves you a random set of items ranging from trash to some Moonlight Greatsword +15
I don't think so, bc the point is that what you chose doesn't matter. Someone will come and kindle the fire and usurp you of your Throne , what aldia wants is for you to see the truth of the world and see what you choose bc he is a true immortal you can see that he doesn't drop a soul bc he does not die.
“Peace grants men the illusion of life.
Shackled by falsehoods, they yearn for love, unaware of its grand illusion.”
Aldia, Scholar of The First Sin's theme but he slowly devolves into a monster while Drangleic falls into ruin
I dont get it
How can dark souls 2 have such a magnificent, phenomenal, fantastic, mind blowing theme and not get any attention whatsoever as the other games?
Well it was mostly because of the unfinished state and the downgrade it gets because of the troublesome development. Now the people just hate it because hating ds2 is part of the community. One of the things I despise about the community
Its that weird thing people seem to have where as long a sequel isnt uncannily similar to the last game that its bad, Metroid Fusion gets the same rep just because its more linear and, god forbid, cutscenes with text. Not to mention Miyazaki didnt really oversee the entire thing and only helped worked on it by the end of its development.
Game is still good, it has this level of jank that makes it a cult classic where as DS 1 and 3 are staple titles. Its got iffy parts to its lore but in all honesty it would have fit really well into the overall narrative.
I mean, the combat can be kinda shit sometimes
@@anthonyst-onge Certainly not as bad as DS1's combat.
@@anthonyst-onge If you consider DS3 combat good then Nioh pvp is best tier game ever.
No seriously, DS3 has great maps and design, but the combat is total bs.
Reminds me how great a lot of DS2's themes were. Like Alonne's, Looking Glass Knight, Executioner's Chariot...
Nashandra
Ivory King
Sinh
Fume Knight
some nerds : ds2 has the worst soundtracks in thr series
God this is nice, I always forget how good sounding and terribly saddening Aldia's theme is, shame there aren't more remixes of it, it really is a gem. Thank you as always Tundra.
Honestly to me it sounds like a bad rip off of Gwyn's theme in the beginning, and a generic sad music in the middle.
The end (like the last thirty seconds) are a step up but I don't know why I don't like the music overall, I find it... Discordant (I don't know if that's the right word in english, it is in french) :I
I actually don't know why, to be clear, and I'm not trying to disprove your appreciation.
@@nathanjora7627
I bet you hate Dark Souls 2
"No matter how tender how exquisite a lie will remain a lie" that's the truth i learn from Aldia.
@@UGS2702
Young Hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?
@@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051 yes.
To see the world warp, to understand its cause, yet be powerless to stop its deranged course...A truly harrowing curse carry.
Goodness, this is amazing. Really speaks to the tortured legacy of Gwyn, and Aldia's close relationship to it.
"To be alive... To walk this very earth, that's the real curse right there"
Aldia knew many things, dark things. So when we came along. He too told us those things... and the darkness behind them
Aldia Should have appeared in the ringed city, but Miyazaki seems to despise the ds2 storyline
Yes. I like it even if the world layout and integration falls short of DS1, among other things, its a cool vibe of cycles and decay and forgetting ancient lore
Gwynevere, Gwyndolin, Anor Londo, NK, black knights, silver knights, giant sentinels, demons, Quelana, the Fair Lady, should have appeared in DS2, but the lead developer seems to despise the ds2 storyline.
More seriously : it’s not a question of despising, although considering the treatment DS2 gave to DS1 it would be fair if he did, it’s just a question of not really fitting in.
DS2 wanted to be its own story, it scrapped almost everything from DS1 (lore wise), do of course when the series had to be back on track to conclude the story of Gwyn, the first flame, and humanity, it was hard to integrate.
It’s possible Miyazaki did despise DS2, what I’m saying is that wether or not he did DS2 would’ve been hard to meaningfully reference in a game that tried to give pay offs to DS1’s set ups (DS3), when DS2 didn’t try to build on much of said set ups.
And for Aldia specifically : this vapid character would’ve had to be written again from the ground up given how shallow he really is. In DS2, all he does is be a mediocre foil to Vendrick, a sad parody of Seath, and a cool voice to deliver falsely deep lines that will have practically nothing of substance in them due to how obtusely and nonsensically cryptic they are, or how completely obvious and superfluous they are.
If anything, I would’ve preferred to see some as of yet unknown character that was accointed with Vendrick and sent in the ringed city.
Perhaps a third knight aside from Raime and Veldstaat, perhaps a mere squire that was the only one that escaped the fate of the over soldiers of Vendrick, and continued to try and fulfill his mission, etc.
@@nathanjora7627 i don't think they two give the same treatment to the previous game , staying in the same history but still trying to be "different" was a respect for the ds1 storyline , Ds2 bring some things to the table that ds3 completely ignores it , focusing only in trying to make us nostalgic of ds1
@@corbenalley8382 I don't really thinks he despise it , and i understand that is trying to follow his original history, but adding some more things of the ds2 would have been nice
Higor Alexandre « staying in the same history but still trying to be ‘’different’’ was a respect for the ds1 storyline »
That’s what DS3 did, by providing good reasons for the similar structure to DS1, whilst still making things different thematically and narratively.
DS2 ripped the « four bosses » second part of DS1, and indirectly ripped off the bosses of DS1 by trying to connecting them to bog standard bossfights that don’t have much in common with their inspiration despite trying to tie them in desperately through the souls dropped.
Ripping things off without putting in the care to justify them and trying to pay lip service to the original by having your bosses be reincarnations of the previous ones, yet giving them completely inadequate themes that don’t match with the purpose and nature of the originals, isn’t respect, it’s vandalism.
« Ds2 bring some things to the table that ds3 completely ignores »
And DS1 brought a lot to the table (primordial serpents, gods, kiln of the first flame, Ornstein being dead, demons, etc) that DS2 completely ignores, the only exception in my list being demons, and even then we don’t technically see any demons, just chaos.
« focusing only in trying to make us nostalgic of ds1 »
Yeah, not at all like when DS2 only kept the sunbro covenant, or when it kept the BK weapons, or when it had every major boss be a reincarnation of the previous major bosses, or when it literally copy pasted a dead boss.
Except DS3 does a lot more.
First of all because it also tries to make us nostalgic of DeS ^^
But secondly because it doesn’t try to make us nostalgic of DS1, it tries to give closure to DS1’s story, something DS2 did not even attempt even if it copied entire chunks of its structure.
Most of the game has nothing to do with DS1, or only very loosely.
The four biggest nostalgic references to DS1 are the AW, Anor Londo, NK, and SoC’s second phase, pretty much everything else is very much new.
And hell, these are all far more imaginative than just having the bosses drop a soul that loosely connect them to the previous game’s bosses.
Just to be clear : I’m not saying I agree with what DS3 did to DS2, I actually think it would’ve been better if they had found a way to work DS2 in DS3.
It’s just that even if I deplore that, I have to recognize that because DS2 distanced itself from DS1 so much, it would’ve been really difficult to give closure to DS1 all the whilst trying to work in the narrative mess that was DS2.
And reciprocally, it would’ve been pretty hard to try and tie DS3 with DS1 if DS3 had tried to be a direct sequel to DS2 rather than a sequel to DS1.
This is actually such an interesting piece, ngl. It literally sounds like the devolution from triumph and courage into fear and despair.
Gwyn ruined everything, but man can I empathize to him
Because in the end he was just a child huddled around a dying fire afraid of the dark and the creatures that lurked within.
@@aguy7566
It was an old man clinging to his illusion of godhood and refusing to let go, dooming the world and humanity, and forcing it into some unnatural shape to hold on to his glory just a little bit longer. Gwyn isn't a hero.
@@aguy7566 He sure saw himself as a hero. He was trying to save the world from the Abyss. But he destroyed the natural course of the world forever. He created the curse of the undead with the Darksign. He killed the dragons and locked away their knowledge. He started an infinite cycle of Fire and Dark with literally no escape from it.
You choose Fire? It will eventually fade.
You let the Fire fade? It will rekindle over and over and over again.
In DS3 you have to force all the Lords of Cinder to link the fire again. They are tired. The world is tired,. At the end everything is literally ash. All the kingdoms merged together. And when you fight Soul of Cinder he comes one final time to fight you, he's still protecting the First Flame. His spirit or the embodiment of who he was still wants to prolong the eternal cycle and the suffering.
He's an Anti Hero.
@@aguy7566 which is to remain ontop of the food chain
@@aguy7566 there nothing say that the god will die they just do the same thing that the dragons did adapt
Everywhere at the End of Fire. Post-hollowing stage 6 is without description.
Yes one for Aldia! I'm beginning to play SotFS so I'm glad you uploaded this
Hey if your on xbox one I could help you through the game what do you think
@@aguafria9003 No I have ps4 :(
i loved this! it give an air of "something is wrong" this make it unique!
"No matter how tender how exquisite A LIE WILL REMAIN A LIKE" - Chad Aldia
Genuinely really cool; it really carries a deep emotional weight to it.
This is probably my favorite OST edit from you, so far. I've always loved Aldia's theme, and this alteration is hauntingly beautiful.
This makes me remember that a lie will remain a lie.
Chosen undead: “.......What?....?”
Gwyn: “Look I know that sounds bad but-“
Chosen Undead: *darkbeads gwyn*
No matter how tender... how exquisite...
A LIE WILL REMAIN A LIE!
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!
Best soulsborne character with no doubt
Gwyn ? Yep, his motivations make sense, his legacy is complex, etc.
Aldia ? No, not really. It’s one of the worst actually. Shallow, nonsensical, and useless.
He’s just a cool voice with cool sounding dialogues that either don’t mean much, or are platitudes.
Vendrick is a much better character.
Edit : sorry for the repost, my internet lagged multiple time and it ended up in this mess.
Nathan Jora saying that severely understates Aldia’s character. Aldia was one of the few people to sympathize for humans and attempted to guide them at times and while he was cruel to other beings and creatures in his days of study, he was pretty much removed from the realm of deities purely because he attempted to find a cure for the curse. In the end, he was unable to do so, thus he leaves the bearer of the curse to make his own decision as to prolong the cycle further or let it crumble into nothing. He doesn’t encourage either, but he proposes the idea of both and simply watches in curiosity.
Aldia is not shallow or nonsensical and for you to say his dialogues don’t mean much is to take a very literal perspective of the games and the real world as well. Think about how those words would actually play into effect in the mind of a hollowing warrior who doesn’t really know what they’re doing or why they’re there. For some, Aldia may be considered a lure towards the dark and for others, he may be a source of enlightenment for humans. However, he is not “nonsensical” or “shallow” and by FAR is not one of the worst characters.
@@3thandana "Aldia was one of the few people to sympathize for humans and attempted to guide them at times and while he was cruel to other beings and creatures in his days of study, he was pretty much removed from the realm of deities purely because he attempted to find a cure for the curse."
... Aldia was a human.
Vendrick's brother. Both humans.
And it's never said that Aldia attempted to find a cure for the curse, that'd be Vendrick, Aldia only studied it, wether to cure it, satisfy his own curiosity, or find some knowledge he could use for his personal benefit.
As for being cruel to other beings : yes, first and foremost : humans.
"thus he leaves the bearer of the curse to make his own decision as to prolong the cycle further or let it crumble into nothing. He doesn’t encourage either, but he proposes the idea of both and simply watches in curiosity."
The thing is that he doesn't say that. First, because he tries to prevent you form seizing the throne, even though he contradictorily wants you to seize it, and second of all because he doesn't seem to "think either choice is good "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…"
"Seek light, Dark, and what lies beyond…"
"Aldia is not shallow or nonsensical and for you to say his dialogues don’t mean much is to take a very literal perspective of the games and the real world as well."
No, I say that because no real meaning can be discerned from much of what he said, because there are so many metaphors, figures of speech, etc, to the point that most of it could just as well be gibberish.
When you say something that can be interpreted in many contradictory ways, many just as plausible despite being contradictory, you aren't saying anything.
It's true for him, as it's true for many people in real life.
How do we know so many politicians' discourses are shallow ? Because what they say when analyzed has so many unspecified ideas in it, where you can put whatever you want without any kind of certitude as to what was meant, that the message can be interpreted to suit whatever narrative most pleases you, and therefore doesn't mean anything.
The same goes for Aldia.
"Think about how those words would actually play into effect in the mind of a hollowing warrior who doesn’t really know what they’re doing or why they’re there"
Yeah, I do, which is another reason why I think Aldia's discourse is shallow.
If he wants to be understood, which he should considering that he is talking to us, then he should try to be clear, he shouldn't try to veil his informations, advices, and opinions, under a veil of needless metaphors.
Especially if you consider that you're hollowing, meaning that you'll be confused. Except of course wether or not you're hollowing isn't even a certitude, either because you've re-gained some sort of purpose, or found human effigies, or hell even got Vendrick's blessing and are now immune to the curse.
"For some, Aldia may be considered a lure towards the dark and for others, he may be a source of enlightenment for humans. However, he is not “nonsensical” or “shallow” and by FAR is not one of the worst characters."
He is one of the worst characters precisely because he is so vapid and shallow and says so few things of real substance that he is a placeholder for anything the player wants to see in him.
Unknowingly, you've just summed up one of the biggest problem of Aldia : he stands for nothing.
Not in the sense that he holds no position, like some kind of nihilist or whatever, but that despite apparently stating what his views are, his words don't help in expressing his view of the world, despite the fact that it's their goal, which ends up in a character that's saying anything the player wants to hear, which makes him shallow.
He isn't a character, like Vendrick, he is a puppet and a bunch of keys that the developers are waving in front of the player in the hope that they'll found some sort of meaning in him despite the fact that he himself doesn't bring anything of substance to the table.
And it's not like Gwyn, where 1)the reason why we can't figure him out is because he was gone for so long that there aren't enough records of what his views were, and of the few people that knew him and are still alive, none can really be trusted fully, 2) there is still a coherent pattern to his action that allow us to make a few conclusions as to what he stood for (the age of light, at the very least his family and the other gods, wasn't needlessly cruel as a general rule but could still have been either superstitious or constrained by his court, acted to minimize the influence of the dark, but not directly by killing, fought his battles, etc).
So yes, Aldia is one of the worse characters, because he is meaningless, his motivations are needlessly unclear, his words are obtusely obscure, and what he says is so confused probably precisely so that the players can insert whatever they want in it, and although I can accept that for worldbuilding purposes, to have the imagination of the players run wild, I can't accept that for a character whose whole presence in game is justified by being an exposition dumper.
Pfiou, there, answered, sorry that I took so much time ^^
... One day ? It was only one day ago that you've answered me ? Gwyndamn, I didn't know I received so many messages °_°
@@nathanjora7627 no one is gonna read that, you're building a shitty case. Aldia is tenfold times better a character than Gwyn, and I'm not going to argue with you to explain why since you seem so incessant on your character bashing nonsense, it's objective
@@carnictus23 *Reads pseudo*
*reads both that nobody is gonna read but also an "observation" on what I wrote*
Hhmm... Not sure but I'll go for "troll"
If you aren't, then funny that you bothered to respond to a comment you think nobody will read ^^
Ironic. In Gwyn's attempt to prolong the age of fire, all he did was make the darkness eternal.
Not really, more like it caused a broken cycle that keeps repeating. Age of flame ends, undead links the fire, age of flame ends again, repeat.
@@freshlymemed5680 And then, by exstenion, making the darkness eternal. Before the linking, the age of dark would have ended, like the age of fire and ancients before it. Yet by linking the fire, Gwyn prevented not just the end of fire, but the end of dark too.
@@freshlymemed5680 However, as we see in the game, the fire keeps getting weaker and weaker. eventually, it will become so pitiful that no light will exist. Yet because it is linked, and cannot permantly die, the age of dark will also never end
@@dadab22 The age of ancients also didn't end naturaly. it wasn't fated to end cause it doesn't exist within the cycle.
That's why Aldia wanted to break the cycle by reviving the ancient dragons. Cause as we know they aren't truly dead they just left their bodies die in the war due to their nature as it says in the Dragon eye in Dark souls 1. At the end he only casted himelf away from the cycle unable to change the world
Honestly this really fits with how DS3's world is. Absolutely messed up, I mean. What a tragic universe Fromsoft has created.
I love what you did with this, that behind the calm and gentle, undertones of wrong lace its workings.
I love how the music is peaceful but disoriented
It's sad that those idiots gave SOTFS so much hate which caused Miyazaki to give minimal connections from DSII to DSIII, despite it being the most rich and deep in lore out of all three games
I hate playing ds2 but the lore of ds2 is fucking incredible
@@joshihg6751 reminds me of star wars the old republic lol
Be careful the ds2 haters may arrive
@@pineapple8934 swtor mentioned les go
@@pineapple8934 Deadly premonition is another game that is worth it for its story and characters even if its game play is god awful.
Even the devs knew the gunplay was so hot garbage that they hand out infinite ammo guns like candy.
DS2 plot development on the foundations of DS1 really make it deserving of a nice remake. Imagine 360 movement and rolling, powerstancing, overhauled bosses and combat, complete retexture and a new lightning engine. Maybe even throw in some of the original map concepts for areas that were fucked up by time constraints. It'd be dope.
Mímic bomfires?
I want to see bluepoint, the people behind the demons souls remake remake dark souls 2. Imagine the amount of work which would get put in, the secrets they could add, the things they could fix, the areas which would feel better, the combat which would feel smoother! It would be beautiful, dark and morose still, but the graphics, the lighting, everything would just be so… amazing.
@@anwd8646 I wouldn’t like blue point to due it they took a lot of atmosphere from environments, designs, and even straight up removed the most iconic piece of music from it
@@maniac7302 I wouldn’t know that, I never played the original, nor did I hear much about it. I saw the remake and compared that to what little of the original I knew and I was just… blown away. They did very, very bloody well with making it, no doubt. The critical attacks and spells looked fantastic, and while our favourite cat was removed from the cat ring, they did reference it with a missing poster in the credits! Also they gave us a point to new game plus cycles, the penetrator armour set obtained through a pretty difficult process. Also I’m just going to sneak in my obligatory reference to the love I have for dark souls 2s new game plus cycles. It’s the only souls game to do something meaningful with them.
@@anwd8646I don't want bluepoint, yes they did a great job modernising des, but they did just that without adding the cut content, I want the cut content of ds2 in it's remake
Imagine if God just screwed everything up just to die right afterward
The Christ mythos if he hadn't been alive again.
@@heisenberg6830 true
Maybe that's why we should always be gratefull because thing could always get a Lot worse
I respected the ideals of aldia even though hia actions were evil
His ideals being ?
With citations please :|
@@nathanjora7627 He desperately wanted to end the cycle of the world and the undead curse which were inflicted upon the world by Gwyn who linked the fire because he feared the dark and wanted to preserve his age of light however Aldia went a bit crazy in the process and he created a whole bunch of abominations which then earned him a exile from Vendrick. Aldia was then isolated in his keep as he continued his experiments which eventually led to Aldia becoming immortal and the gross fire blob that we all know and love (or dislike in your case).
Citation: Just look up all his dialogue on UA-cam
Al Fall 2007 « and the undead curse which were inflicted upon the world by Gwyn »
His dialogues say literally the opposite, that the normal life humans experience when they aren’t undead is a lie concocted by Gwyn.
And as far as I know, Aldia studied the curse, the fire, and the ages, but wether he wanted to end them or pursue them is unclear. He does say that « no matter how exquisite, a lie remains a lie », but he almost immediately follows it by a statement that can be interpreted as « But I want to conserve this lie ».
You didn’t provide citation though.
« Aldia went a bit crazy in the process and he created a whole bunch of abominations which then earned him a exile from Vendrick »
Citation needed for the exile part, and the chronology, when do we learn that Aldia started off nice and ended up torturing a whole bunch of things when he was drove mad, rather than being a psychopath with no ethic since the beginning ?
« that we all know and love (or dislike in your case) »
I prefer to say « passionately hate » ^^
« Citation: Just look up all his dialogue on UA-cam »
I did, hence why I don’t think it’s possible to precisely determine Aldia’s ideology either.
It’s precisely why I hate aldia, because I think his dialogues are needlessly cryptic in order to hide how shallow and uninformative they are.
I don’t hate him ´cause he is evil/a criminal.
I hate him because his dialogues could’ve been as good as Vendrick’s (which aren’t the greatest in the world, but certainly amongst the best in terms of info dumps in DS2), but were instead as horrible as... his.
@@nathanjora7627 1. Aldia's dialogue in the Dragon Shrine states that he"tried to shed the yolk of fate" that "fate" being the fate of the undead mentioned by Oscar in the first game which is the fate to link the fire (or abandon it) which shows that he tried to end the cycle at least to an extent; and about your point on"no matter how exquisite, a lie remains a lie" quote and how the line right after contradicts it, in all due respect I don't understand what you're talking about because the line he says right after it is a *question* Aldia asks the protag on if they want to preserve the peace knowing the truth behind it and how it was caused by Gwyn defying the nature of the world("Young Hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?"-Aldia's dialogue in the Undead Crypt). Going to your first point on how the lie was the life humans live without the undead curse.....Yeah you got me there but in my defense it is implied in the Ringed City DLC for DS3 that the creation of the curse is somehow tied to Gwyn or the gods in general with the Ringed Knight Armor's item description saying "the gods cast a seal of fire (the darksign) upon such armor, and those who possessed them"
2. The exile part comes from the "Aldia Key" item description which states that "King Vendrick condemned his own elder brother(Aldia) to the mansion". On your point about how we don't know if Aldia was always a insane scientist well The Aldia Hammer's item description state that "Lord Aldia was the King's elder brother and helped found Drangleic, but he later lost interest in the land's fortunes" this line implies that he DID once have interest in the land's fortunes and wanted to help the kingdom before he became obsessed with the first sin (I know this line can be interpreted as Aldia being greedy but that can be disputed with how it is known that Aldia and Vendrick tried to recreate an ancient dragon to cure the curse as evidenced by the bone shield's item description and the Emerald Herald's dialogue).
Citations: soulslore.wikidot.com/data:aldia
soulslore.wikidot.com/data:oscar-knight-of-astora
darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Ringed+Knight+Armor
darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Aldia+Key
darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Aldia+Hammer
soulslore.wikidot.com/data:emerald-herald
P.S: Thanks for not being a asshole in your reply because I have seen way too much of that on this site and at the end of the day this is just a video game character
@@alfalldoot6715 "1. Aldia's dialogue in the Dragon Shrine states that he"tried to shed the yolk of fate" that "fate" being the fate of the undead mentioned by Oscar in the first game which is the fate to link the fire (or abandon it) which shows that he tried to end the cycle at least to an extent"
I'd disagree.
In context, he speaks once of fate (fate of the undead, which is to either inherit the world, or destroy it, showing that he didn't try to end the cycle, but find an alternative to either dark or light, which would end the cycle of course but is still something different from either endings proposed) ,and he speaks of breaking the yoke of flesh and the yoke of fate.
He spoke about yoke when he talked about how humans were bound by the yoke of having flesh or whatever, and the wonderful illusion of life, which this time would respectively mean that he wanted to transcend his corporeal form, or that he tried to end the light, or something like that... Except in context it's hard to see how it'd be a fate ?
(maybe that's just my english comprehension though, but in my defense the french translation ; which is the one I had the game in ; doesn't help clarify one bit, unlike habitually).
I think that if we really wanted to make a case for Aldia having an actual ideal (although it wouldn't help us at all in determining exactly what it is, or how he intended to get it) we should look instead at his last piece of dialogue "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.".
But that could be interpreted as yet another fate as the other two previously mentioned, since this time it's not a question of searching something beyond light and dakr, it's not a question of breaking the illusion of life, it's... Stop having to search for a third path ?
"about your point on"no matter how exquisite, a lie remains a lie" quote and how the line right after contradicts it, in all due respect I don't understand what you're talking about because the line he says right after it is a question"
"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.
Young Hollow, are you intent on shattering the yoke, spoiling this wonderful falsehood?"
That's his question. In context, it seems to me like he's trying to tell us it wouldn't be a good thing.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that in context it seems to me unclear wether this argument is rhetorical or not.
"in my defense it is implied in the Ringed City DLC for DS3 that the creation of the curse is somehow tied to Gwyn or the gods in general with the Ringed Knight Armor's item description saying "the gods cast a seal of fire (the darksign) upon such armor, and those who possessed them" "
In your defense Aldia's dialogue are cancer -_-
Okay, sorry, I'll stop hating on this poor character for a second :
Yeah, sure, the armor does imply that, although to be fair, the seal of fire might've been inspired by the dark sign just as much as the other way around.
That's one way where I would've wanted DS3 to be more explicit, because even in context I don't find that piece of info useful enough to justify its existence.
For example, it does imply that the gods had something to do with the origin of the dark sign, and that it might not be "natural". But the thing is that we are never told of a potential purpose for the dark sign, whereas we are told of a purpose for the seal of fire, namely protect the world from the abyss in which the ringed knights' gear was crafted. The problem that this creates is that we don't really see an analogue for the darksign, unless we're supposed to believe that the only reason modern humans can wield the power of the dark without going full Manus is thanks to the darksign ?
... Do you see my problem ? I'm not sure I was being clear, and it doesn't have much to do with our discussion anyway ><
"2"
Thanks a bunch for all of this, I had either forgotten them or not read them :)
In my defense, they weren't in the dialogues you told me to consult :P
More seriously though, I really can't recall it for the hammer, despite the fact that I know I've read this item's description like... a month ago ? (in french though. Maybe that's why there is a discrepancy, but I can't find any french wiki on which to check the description of the item, so I'll add that to the long list of items I'll have to read the description of next time I'll play the game)
And thanks for providing sources also, that's very civil of you :)
Usually people don't take me too seriously when I ask for sources, when I actually do like them a lot ^^
Although if there was any need to continue our conversation, know that you can just give me the name of the item, or the name of the character whose dialogues you're referencing, I'll search them up myself. I'm thankful for putting in more than the minimum effort though, it's just to make sure you know you don't have to :)
"P.S: Thanks for not being a asshole in your reply"
I don't know if you meant that as a demand (in which case I hope I fulfilled it, and my apologies if I was an asshole previously) or as a thank for my last comment (in which case you're welcomed), but I'll thank you for having been polite thusfar anyway, thanks :)
"at the end of the day this is just a video game character"
BUt iT's dARk SoUlS II ! o_O
More seriously : sure. I hate Aldia, but it's not like it's cause for me to act like a prick toward you just for that :I
Executioner's Chariot but it's just the last 40 seconds looped?
You predicted the future! It is already in the works
@@Tundrarich :O my hero
Why you gotta make me feel things man 😢
Funny seeing you here
@@3thandana siegbrew for your travels homie
Imagine the Dalek and the Cybermen theme tune put together that would send so cool and hunting
Agreed !!!
top 10 saddest anime endings
I love you for this
Covetous demons rolling attack but he doesn't stop rolling? ,,,,,,,,,,,,,':)
Aldia is the reason that da2 is my favourite. No other dark souls game truly made me thing of the WHY of it all. The reason the world is the way it is. Yes dark souls one tells you, but dark souls 2 makes you question it
Before playing ds1 i thought linking the Fire is the good ending, but now I have realised that a lie will remain a lie
Beautiful
When a lie remains a lie 😳
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?
Legend says Nathan Jora is still lurking, hoping for his next chance to defend Gwyn fiercely if you talk about Aldia in the comments or DARE spread anything but hatred towards DS2.
“Umm actually Aldia is a horrible character” -Nathan Jora
I’m convinced that its actually Gwyn typing
But he's mostly true though. People always express different understanding of souls lore, like some say Gwyn is responsible for the never ending cycle of fire and dark and this is bad, or if Gwyn didn't link the fire it would naturally reignite one day after the age of dark that was supposed to come and now it won't (so basically he broke the cycle, contrary to the previous belief), but anyways Gwyn is shitter and what he done to the world is bad. This is just ridiculuous. Honestly feel bad for the man.
Staring out into the Ashen waste, the very end of time itself being nothing more than ruined skeletons of buildings buried in dust finally breaks the ashen one in the way no enemy could. We’re it not for the Gael’s soul inhabiting their body and the sense of purpose in completing his mission it would have hollowed them then and there. The fire, the abyss, their journey so far, the life they led before, their first attempt at linking, what was it all for?! The Ashen one realizes they’re now screaming this into the horizon but do not stop. “Well?! What was it all for? A painting? That may rot and decay like all the ones before it?! Like the world I have endured so many deaths for?! It doesn’t matter does it?! It didn’t the moment they marked us with their contemptible fire! Damn you Gwyn! Damn you and all the gods! May your precious fire sear you for all eternity even after I let it go out! And even that won’t free me or anyone else from this hell you’ve forced upon us!” The ashen one’s words echoed across the landscape as the Ashen one collapsed onto their arms and knees. “Damn it…Pull yourself together.” He chastised himself as he finished his journey to the bonfire. For now, He had a little girl to give an important present to.
"If thou'rt yet human, the urge will soon begin to swell.
To curse the gods, and bring ruin upon this accursed heap of dung."
As much as I dislike DS2 I have to admit it has the most interesting characters in the series.
Young hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?
Nice job!
this shit here is why I love dark souls so much, the sheer hopeless but undoubtedly beautiful world that these games have crafted is so masterful, easily my favorite video game world of all time
*Conquer of adversity, give us your answer*
Moses' theme but you slowly realize Adam ruined everything.
Honestly, the story of dark souls resonates with me on a level that few other mediums do; primarily when peering ahead into the future for humanity. I want to believe that we can brighten the dark abyss in front of us, but the more I learn about the truth of the world and how many unsung heroes we have already sacrificed to the machine of capitalism I cannot help but doubt my optimism. The solutions exist right before us, but those with power to execute them are ignorant and uncaring, hopelessly clinging on to their power like Gwyn did.
Whatever the future holds for us, only one thing will matter:
*Whatever you do, do not go hollow my friend.*
Man, Dark souls 2 is shit, but Dark souls 2 Scholar of The First Sin is well written and lore that tells you more of the world and how the endings never matter, there will always be someone to reignite the first flame, or what if you chose something different.
"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!
"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 lost everything, and remain 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."
The Soul the source of life itself,
The torture through which none can delve,
A Curse befell the world the day,
The Lords Imposed their sway.
From Fire born, the dragons dead,
Bound in shackles that none can shed,
Doomed to face the doors of Death,
But life renewed with each found breath.
Link the Fire, or walk away,
Or a Dark Lord, now fit to reign,
This choice of yours, it matters not,
Many fools die at this very spot.
The path is seen in the scope of Light,
And the reach of Dark now takes flight,
To find true Souls, honest and kind,
To make beings that none can bind.
Claim your purpose, a sovereign true,
Light or Dark, whatever your Want will do,
Your Soul will fade, but be carried unwillingly through,
Though, could you hope that, instead, a love might come find you?
All have believed in this illusion of life,
And prompted some to endure great strife,
We yearn for more than this world, to us, can sate,
Yet we seek it... Insatiably... Such is our fate...
This is better than the OG tbh
Aldia was right. At the end of DS3 everything, even the “dark” was burned away to ash.
Should of forsaken the flame long ago. Age of Dark is officially the “good” endings.
There is no good ending in Dark Souls, in the end, what is the use of eternal peace if we are only animals without brains, what is the use of living a life with emotions and will if it is only suffering? the world of dark souls no matter what you do there will always be suffering,
@@nuiyoshiart Simple. Its the only way forward
the trollge theme
A lie will remain a lie
What is that background called
From the DS2 announcement trailer
Tundrarich thank you ❤️
This is what comes to mind when someone says that Shrek isn't good.
Comme j'aime le dire crotte de taureau
Gwyn ruined everything ?
Yep
Absolutely.
unfortunately yes
Gwyn was a horrible monster
Can anyone tell me lore of the aldia and why gwyn ruined everything
Could you imagine, at the end of Dark souls 3, you've defeated the Lord of Cinder, and once more, Aldia's voice from out of the blue comes into the light...
Name wallpaper?
did gwyn really ruin everything or has lordran,lothric, or whatever you want to call that time diluted place, been fucked since the start of time. Everything is one in lordran.
Yo
Oh yea the big sed
Its Gwyns fault for all of this
it annoys me greatly they just tossed both aldia and the serpents aside for ds3. the serpents only get a damn mention and nothing more like wtf? wasnt their whole scheming a big part of ds1 story? did they jsut say eh it didnt work and just left?
and i mean just have the outttro of ds3 last dlc be narrated by aldia saying his piece how everything is feeble and in the end let it all just burn out
Why did aldia need to be in ds3? The serpents I get, but you find statues of them in the ringed city. I think the idea is that they have been lost to the passage of time, nobody remembers them. Same with aldia
Gwyn did nothing wrong.
EDIT: To clarify, Gwyn did plenty wrong, but not as much as most people like to say.
To clarify a bit more : as far as we know, Gwyn did two things wrong : not giving enough credit to the ringed knights, and raising Gwyndolin as a girl.
Aside from that, everything he did is either good, or undetermined.
@@nathanjora7627 I think a major issue with judging Gwyn's character is that you basically need to disregard what both Primordial Serpents are saying; they're both probably lying in some ways.
Arvid Axelsson Well, not really.
They are lying, but as far as I know they are only lying by omission.
Frampt tells you to take Gwyn place, and... well, he intends for you to take Gwyn place, that’s for sure.
Kaathe tells you that Gwyn rebelled against nature in fear of the dark and the dark lord, and... that’s probably true. Because the dark sucks big time.
He tells you to become the dark lord and usher in the age of dark that he labels the age of men, and insofar that men are the inheritors of the dark soul, that’s true... but he doesn’t mention how humans are woefully incompatible with the dark.
Etc.
Personally I don’t think we have to disregard what they say.
We should be cautious, because lying by omission or not they are still dishonest as heck, but it’s ironically completely possible that neither told a lie.
If I don’t misremember, which admittedly I could ^^
@@nathanjora7627 Yeah, you've got a point. I still think Kaathe is outright lying, but a lot of it is definitely of the "by omission" variety.
On a side-note, I'm actually of the opinion that DS3 would have been a lot more interesting if, instead of *literally* repeating the beats from DS1, you started the game in Londor. Basically, the Sable Church would be your main hub and someone like Yuria would be your level-up lady. Usurpation of Fire would be the railroaded ending, with Link and End being options. Ultimately, the thesis of the story would be how much the serpents are dishonest scumbags and no true age of Humanity can really begin with them still pulling the strings. Also, I would make Soul of Cinder a character with dialogue (this is partly inspired by a leaked early version of the story that I think Lance talked about at some point). It would be interesting if we even got direct dialogue with Gwyn through him. Even if all we get is basically just "I regret nothing lol".
Arvid Axelsson « more interesting if, instead of literally repeating the beats from DS1 »
... But you don’t.
In DS1, you have to go to two things (each bell), then you go through a chokepoint (sen’s fortress and then Anor Londo), then you can go in four different directions, then you end up to the final boss.
In terms of beat, apart from the fact that you kill four bosses and end up with SoC, DS3 isn’t very similar to DS1, because of how linear it is.
Honestly I’d prefer if it had been more like DS1, or at least DeS, in this regard because maybe then AW could’ve been the master piece of a boss it should’ve been, rather than the proportionally weak boss it was ><
« you started the game in Londor »
Hhmm...
No, not me. Maybe in a DLC, but honestly I think it’s better to start in a neutral ground rather than something that belongs to one particular faction.
« Usurpation of Fire would be the railroaded ending »
... No, that I am completely against. It’d go against the whole point of having the normal ending be the « keep things as they are » ending.
« the thesis of the story would be how much the serpents are dishonest scumbags »
I’m not sure it’d be really interesting as the main point of the story, I think it’d be better to leave that up to the player rather than having it being heavy ended.
Personally I like the fact that the serpents could be completely truthful and just framing things differently.
« no true age of humanity can really begin with them still pulling the strings »
That’s... more something I could agree with, although again I don’t think it should be the central point, because of the risk of being too on the nose.
What I’d rather do, going on the same line of reasoning, is to have the story be about « do we need an age of man, and what would it entail ? ».
Because as such... the age of light was mostly an age of man.
Mankind was the dominant force of history in this world, even with Gwyn being the guy who kickstarted it all.
« I would make Soul of Cinder a character with dialogue »
I wouldn’t, but instead you could have SoC be the second phase of the boss (or hell, even the second and third phase), and the first phase be the last linker of fire, which could have dialogues ?
It wouldn’t really work though considering how much time needs to have went by for that to work.
« It would be interesting if we even got direct dialogue with Gwyn through him »
Honestly I’d like that, a lot... but it’s the kind of thing where I don’t have enough confidence in the developers to give a dialogue that’d better than what we could imagine.
I think that SoC is good as it is, personally I’d rather change the bosses previous to him.
Like NK. NK should’ve had dialogues, and be non hollowed.
We should’ve fought him as the Titan he was, and he should’ve given us insight on his fate and his father.
Honestly I think that NK is perhaps the most wasted boss of all, closely followed by AW, Dancer and Vordt.
Edit : speaking of dialogues, Gwyndolin could’ve had some.
I don’t think it would’ve been a problem if, upon death, he had said something like « Thank you, unkindled, I expected no less of your kind », or something like that. Maybe he could even say « Thank you knightess [instead of « unkindled », to show the affection he had for her], see that Yorshka be safe ».
Plenty of people describe Gwyndolin as arrogant, but hearing his dialogues he seems... well, rather respectful and kind, for someone who was raised as a god, royalty, and son of the most powerful soul to ever live.
Lord Gwyn will always be remembered as a hero who sacrificed his everything to save everything...
No.
If u think that so u don't understand the lire he just coward
I dont know the lore :(
Lol I know some but I don’t know this stuff
ua-cam.com/video/Cdk_fvXG5xA/v-deo.html
Juan Santos Lol thanks
I wouldn't say Gwyn ruined everything. I'd say he 'did what had to be done' and that choice could only be made by a true monarch.
By that you mean ruining the cycle of nature? You know even Aldia himself says the option to stop the Fire Linking is there right?
With Dark Souls 3 "End of fire" ending it is implied that after the age of Dark there will be a new age where no one will suffer after what Gwyn did by linking the fire and cause the curse that pretty much messed the world
In a nutshell, pretty much Gwyn ruined everything when letting the world ruin it naturally would cause soo much less suffering than what he did
this just sucks, man
Gwyn didn't "ruin " anything.
The only reason "anything" existed is because of gwyn and the first flame in the first place.
Go back to nothing if you hate it.
The grey of the ancients or the darkness of the abyss.
Gwyn didn’t create the first flame he stole a powerful soul from it ignoring something that’s even debatable as far as ds1 isn’t wise
@@maniac7302 yep, let's not forget that furtive pygmy who created humanity did the same lmao. Also OP doesn't say that Gwyn did create the first flame
Gwyn did nothing wrong
Amen
Factually incorrect!
Gwyn rekindled the first flame prolonging the age of fire and cursed the humans with the darksign making them turn hollow and did nothing wrong?
@@JoeMama-fr8uh Proof he created the darksign?
@@JT044-iz1cv he didn't. The darksign came as a reaction to rekindling the first flame
Worst game in the series.
I agree but honestly I’m not sure what you gained by pointing it out :|
Especially without even giving arguments.
@@nathanjora7627 probably just Sharing his opinion I suppose.
Personally, I disagree with it, DS2 is my favourite of the games I've played, but I do understand why others disagree with me on it.
NotVeryImmortal It could be your favorite and the worst, or your least favorite yet the best, the two aren’t necessarily linked.
And yes, I know he is just sharing his opinion, my question is why.
It’s not like the video particularly called for such a comment, and his comment isn’t even constructive.
I have my share of qualms with this game, especially with the story and characters, especially with Aldia that I hate (as a character, not as a person. I mean, he is also a shitty person, but that’s not the reason I despise him), but I won’t go around randomly saying that I don’t like it, or that it’s the worst.
I have the same problem with the DS2 fans that’ll go around saying that it’s the best game even if there is no reason to say such a thing (and I don’t mean to say that there aren’t any reason to say DS2 is the best, I mean to say that the video they are commenting under has nothing to do even remotely with the quality of the game).
I don’t know, unjustified praises and condemnations that bring nothing beyond the judgement of good or bad bug me for some reason :/
@@nathanjora7627 to be fair I have been feeling like making a low level invader build with agape ring lately. I might play ds2 again.
Estra I... am not sure how that‘s fair, but eh... good to know you didn’t give up on DS2 ? Maybe ? I didn’t really mind her you qualified DS2 of being the worst DS game, I’d agree with that, it’s just the fact that it was completely uncalled for that bugged me :|