And not just that it presents itself very differently with the beginning and the firekeepers telling you how your memory might not be as reliable as you thought.
Idk man, trying to be objective with this is hard. Sure DS3 is buttery smooth and more streamlined. But no game has ever made me FEEL the same way DS1 makes me feel. Lost magic in that one.
I completely agree, That's why I tried to cast a wide net with my discussion and make sure I touch on topics that each game can shine in! Also you're absolutely right, I'd be surprised if any game could recapture what the first half of Dark Souls did, totally timeless.
i had that w/Ds2 (it was my first souls i picked it up 10 days after release )i played it till 5am the night before we flew to san juan for vacation.The heides tower fake orenstein was a roadblock at that time😂😂😂😂😂-and we i came home and immediately downloaded Des onto my ps3 and went to gamestop to buy Ds for 16$ .Ds2 had blew my mind and i needed souls content like a heroin addict.i mean i hadnt even gotten 25% thru ds2 and i bought the 2 othere😂😂😂😂😂these games can be lifechanging
If you played DS1 first, then that tracks. You would not as likely have that same feeling of "magic" about the first one if you got your start with DS2 or DS3.
I don't think so, object just means ignore how you feel about something and talk about what's actually there. When I talk about the abysmal Ai in Dark Souls 2, that is a thing that exists and isn't subjective. There's a boss that outright kills themselves that people use to farm Souls, there are NPC invaders that can't see through ladders, there's various pathing issues with mobs in areas they obviously weren't meant to be in. You don't have to be a developer to see these things and those are objective criticisms. So if you want to be objective, never end an observation with "but it didn't bother me" or "I didn't think it was that bad" or "I never saw that when I played", because that's when it gets subjective.
My personal favorite is Dark Souls II, but Demon’s Souls is the most slept on in the extended series. I think I prefer it specifically because of the variety of viable builds available. Especially with the amazing spells and power-stancing weapons of different types, two playthroughs usually look and feel nothing alike.
It’s by far the most innovative in the series. Dark Souls 2 is slept on by so many. Perfect blend of the tactical slow approach from DS1 and the speed of DS3.
Ds1 is my favorite. Like many other people are saying, theres just some magic, some beautiful feeling of playing the game that no other souls game has given me. It gave me a similar feeling to playing skyrim and oblivion for the first time.
There is something just... enchanting about how it's the first in a lot of instances. I know Demon's Souls is technically THE first for these games, and I love Demon's Souls, it's kinda tied for second place in my heart next to Bloodborne, surprisingly. Dark Souls 1 was just that spark that got this whole bonfire going.
One of the things that I personally like about DS1 and DS2 is the how the world feels. You can go down different paths and the world actually opens up. Sure DS2 doesn't make sense at times, but that's the charm of it. DS3 feels like I'm walking down a path with 2 little forks in the road with some cool things to see on the way to end, but no real side tangents other than Arch Dragon Peak, The Demon Ruins, and the Unttended Graves. DS3 has the best combat hand down as well as the bosses. DS1 and 2 are clunky, but that good kind of clunky. I could probably keep ranbleing on different parts of the games that I enjoy and ones that are worse. But overall, Its a tie between DS1 and 2 for me. One thing I disagree with you on DS2's story/world is that it's supposed to be super disconnected from the original with only bits and pieces connecting it to it. A lot of the world is just repurposed by other kingdoms/rulers pulling bits and pieces to their cultures. Item entires that are ambiguous about who they are representing show how much time has passed. Even statues of Gywn in the blue Cathedral have eagle heads A perfect example is Have's armor which states "The origin of the name Havel is not clear. Some say it was the warrior who wore the armor, but others say it was the name of a great kingdom ruined in a barbaric war". That just my two cents. Great video overall!
At the end of the day, if you've *actually* played them all in their entirety, you love & hate each one in their own way. I can think of so many moments between all of them where im ready to pack it in (Lost Izalith, Shrine of Amana, Smouldering Lake, literally any DLC add filled area) only to find myself completely enamored down the line by the satisfaction of tying everything together. & that is the beauty of it all. You're either a favortism virgin or a chad sum of all enjoyer.
I only half agree, people can have favourites for their own reasons. DS2 has more replay value, DS3 has a faster pace, DS1 has the design of the first half of the game.
From time to time I think about how much better blacksmithing was in DS2 and that I rarely hear it come up, but it's potentially more relevant to a 'testing things' character than it is to lore or straightforward builds Being able to get Titanite slabs more or less infinitely in a single NG cycle was a blessing I miss heavily in the other games
The local complexities of the areas are present on all through DS2, being enhanced on the DLC. I think it is the game that did it the best. At the expense of the global map complexities from 1.
My personal favorite is Dark Souls II as well, and I would massively downrate the "area" value for DS1, since you have: - sometimes a bad bonfire/shortcut placement and frequency - unfinished things like demon ruins copy&paste area - bulls**t areas like crystal caves (the invisible bridges...) In comparison to that, almost all the areas in DS2 and DS3 are somehow beautiful, nicely playable and somehow immersive. 2-4-4 if you ask me.
@@thatoneguy7388 The transition to dragon's aerie as well. There are more areas that would stick one in another, I think, and it confused me a lot in the beginning. The areas themselves are cool. About those connections: In the end it is like Drancleic is painted as a dream world, an unreal one. Everything is possible, and I don't know, after playing it through roughly 7 times, I must admit that it feels absolutely right this way. You know, "perhaps you've seen it, maybe in a dream".
@@BaerndXP yeah, these nonsensical connections and overlapping areas were created deliberately. Here's a quote from the Design Works interview: "Next we move onto The Iron Keep, although many people found the fact that these locations were linked to be something of a mystery." Art Director Daisuke Satake: "Of course, conventional wisdom would place magma underground but when you start to consider this lake and realize that there must be a reason for it being there, then the world becomes a little more interesting. I tried to implement ideas like this throughout the game, to give the player something curious and unexpected." Here's a video about it I made: ua-cam.com/video/GOpVOFJwGXI/v-deo.htmlsi=S6XAqnPq0tMSePQQ
Dark souls 1 was the game that got me into fromsoftwares games entirely It really did cure my depression with its Dark yet fascinating story telling and its interconnected lands at one point you can be at this undead burg but then you can find an underground lake of ash that shocks and awes you Dark souls 1 truly is the one
I feel the same because there was just too much jank that effected my enjoyment of Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 felt like it nostalgia baited too hard in the base game.
you forgot to give at ds2 extra 14 points for having the balls while being berated by the community for 10 years and not giving a fuck, or maybe thats a personal bias. nonetheless very nice video I love hearing other people put to words what we all feel about these astounding games
Dark souls 2 world is made so much better when you understand the art direction. The reason why the world feels so strange and impossible with its level layout is because that’s exactly how it is supposed to make you feel. The story is more focused on the affects of the undead curse and one of the side affects of hollowing is forgetting how you ended up somewhere and not really knowing why. It’s out right stated as such a couple times throughout the game one of which being in the opening cutscene. It’s an artistic choice and a good way to immerse the player the confusion of the player character has been feeling since he entered drangliec. It’s my personal favorite for that reason and even dark souls 3 took some notes when you look at the Dreg heap. None of that makes sense realistically. I think Dark Souls 2s world deserves more points personally
I appreciate it dude! Dark Souls 3 was the game that REALLY got me into the series, the more modern mechanics make it so much more approachable, but learning it is also a great foundation for going back and appreciating the earlier entries too!
Same here, only played DS3 and consider it tied for the most fun I've had playing a game with the Halflife 2 series. I'm watching a DS1 playthrough right now just to get an idea of what it was like, but don't really have much desire to play it. At least yet.
I feel like the reason the spells/miracles are so bad in DS3 is because, if you try and do the opposite they become overpowered. We see this in Elden Ring as well, constant updates needed to change around spells. It makes them bounce across from overpowered to unviable over and over.
Yeah, it's a difficult thing to get right, especially when there are so many different spells to balance. I definitely lean more on the side of them being 'over' than 'under' powered though, makes the game more fun for every playstyle.
Overall I'd have to say 3. Smooth & refined combat. Weapon Arts add a new dimension to combat. Most consistent boss lineup, along with having a handful of some of the best bosses in the series. Honestly all three games are good for their own reasons and are worth repeat playthroughs imo.
My issues with 3 is that it's a bit nostalgia baiting, it feels like a "best of" album, which means you get a lot of the good, but it's also not a lot of new. As for the weapon arts, they were interesting, but FAR better realized in Elden Ring and looking back at them in Dark Souls 3, I barely ended up using a great deal of them, with only a few really good standouts.
Ds1 is easily the worst for me. I never felt the "magic" in it, and to this day, I don't enjoy playing it. Ds2 Is my favorite in terms of world/lore and by virtue of invading being my favorite thing in all of gaming. Drangelic is such an interesting land and I love that we are exploring another nameless kingdom in a long line of fire fading. Ds3 takes it for gameplay, level design, and ost for me. For a few of you who don't know, level design and world design are two different things.
DS1, DS2, DeS. It's impossible for me to decide wich is, and they all share first place. DS1 as a piece of art, and emotional rollercoaster, DS2 as a very innovative and moody expierience, and DeS as stright up survival horror by structure. They all do the same thing but with different tools. P.S. Story is the weirdes section of the video. Considering how you constructed the narrative (beginning, consequences, end) there shoudn't be any score. All three games handles this particular consepts very well, and from my perspective all shoud get no score\highest score. The only game wich can get pat on the head is DS2 coz it shows much more intimate part of the curse, more personal, wich is absence in both other games.
I totally see where you're coming from! I tried to base the 'story' section on how much the narrative is directly conveyed to the player and how well that's executed when it's done, which I think Dark Souls 2 did the best, though in hindsight it may have been fairer to give Dark Souls 1+3 a four and Dark Souls 2 a five for the sake of giving each game more credit. I appreciate your thoughts dude!
I recently finished shadow of the erdtree, after that I played and finished DS3 + DLCs (it was my first time). Then I decided to play something a little bit older and classic, so I picked DS1 Remastered. The first thing that I started noticing was how charming and charismatic it was compared to DS3. Everything felt like it had that type of aura, it felt more immersive and interesting. After a couple hours I found myself struggling with the gargoyles and in general with some enemies, which was weird to me because I had just finished DS3 and ER and I didn't had that much trouble with those games beside a few bosses that were meant to be hard. I thought to myself "man, I don't think I'll finish this game, it feels so slow and clunky". After a few more tries, I beat the gargoyles. I still felt that the game was just way clunkier and slower... But then I realized that it wasn't a bad thing and saw the beauty of it. I had to think more carefully about every move that I made. Most enemies/bosses are also slow or predictable, I just had to adapt that way of playing. One of the best things to me about DS1 is the world design (I know, nothing new). It just made the game feel like an adventure, a journey. I know some people dislike the second half of the game but I didn't find it that dislikable (I actually liked it as much as the first half). Overall I just think the game is way more memorable than DS3... And don't get me wrong I love DS3. The average person will probably enjoy it more because it feels more modern, smoother and linear, but it just doesn't live up to what DS1 is.
The last half of the game is unfinished. Even Miyazaki said so. The first half and the dlc is incredible but the last half of the game is quite bad. At least IMO anyways
@@MattDean-o1t They even were sad about Some things, like Gwyn being trivialized by parries, or the biggest case of all, Bed of Chaos, which they tried to rework It but they couldn't do anything with the time restrictions. And on the first version of DS It was even worse before, your progress wasn't even saved after destroying the weak points! I feel pity for those first players...
Hey man, interesting video! Always hard to talk about this topic in a video which aims to be under 1h, but I think you did a good job! The only point I hardly disagree on are the quality of the bosses. Ds1 Bosses are mostly way more gimmicky then the other two games and that is why they "don't hold up" all to well. But I think longevity is the wrong lense to see this through. Most bosses in ds1 are a pure knowledge check, so you can only solve them once and try exceedingly harder methods after that. But the first time solving these bosses is where I would try to put focus on it. The problem with this is obviously, that you as a player don't get that, if you didn't start with ds1, but the solving mechanics go though all of the souls games. That's why as you can play each game only once the first time, also you can only play the first souls-game once, if that makes sense. In other words, the first game you played will always hold a special place, since it's the biggest hurdle you had to overcome. That's why I think that longevity makes ds1 bosses looks so much cheesier then the other games, since the other because most solved them first and then used that knowledge against the other two's. Won't defend bed of chaos though. :D
I think an interesting part about why DS2 is so different is because its designer was the producer of the old King's Field trilogy. Thus, it's not surprising why it has a more methodical approach to level design, variety of items and all. They're integral King's Field tropes, as I would say that Miyazaki leans more on elements which emphasise action and combat specifically, especially from Bloodborne onwards.
Yeah, you can slide down ladders in DS1. It is the exact opposite of what you would think though. You have to stop completely, then press the button to slide.
@@Domo3000 I'd recall that only happens if you have dsfix and 60fps enabled. Could be that it happens also on remastered though, which would further rise the question of why they even bothered to remaster the game without actually fixing anytying.
Let me just say… it’s the best all around but some of the others are just more satisfying to play and more fulfilling I’m not saying Elden ring isn’t but I just think some of the others are more fulfilling
I don't think so man, DS2 is great however flaws are ADP being stat, the run back to Blue Smelter/Sir Alonne, the slow Estus Flask healing system and just bad mechanics in general. It's the black sheep of the family and when you play you realize why.
i gotta agree with your rankings, my only gripe with ds3 is how they nerfed spells/miracles to some being useless. gael is still one of fromsoft’s most dynamic and cinematic fights ever.
Easy Answer, Dark Souls 1. Dark Souls 2 could have a best PvP of any game in human history and I still can't give it a pass because it's been TEN YEARS and it still has bugs that never should have existed in the first place, some of the most bizarre design decisions I've ever seen and they've had like four DLC and a definitive edition to get things right and the most we got out of it moving forward were a different estus upgrade system, power-stance and... torches? Sadly, Dark Souls 3 is just a "best of" album that plays a lot on nostalgia a bit too much. Some of the most interesting systems it introduced got better refined in Elden Ring so they don't work well as standout features. I will give it some credit, it's a good entry point for new players in many cases, though I'd argue that Dark Souls 1 is as well, it has some of the best boss music, it was ported for PC WAY better and it doesn't have any bosses or areas that are as egregious as Bed of Chaos and the Tomb of the Giants. It also has a pretty satisfying conclusion for the series.
I feel like your critique of Dark Souls 2 world misses a but of the point of both world and story, because you hear from sevreral people about the world itself feeling unreliable, that it is crazy, or untrustworthy to traverse it.
I really appreciate that dude thanks! As my first time approaching topics which are genuinely pretty contentious, getting my reasoning straight and understandable is something that I tried my best to convey, I'm glad you're into it!
I disagree with you on two points and they both are in regards to Dark Souls 1. Now before saying my first disagreement I'm going to say that I believe that it is possibly due to you playing the remastered version of the game. The issue I have is that the OG/prepare to die versions of Dark Souls1 had very cohesive visuals that kind of fall apart in the remaster. Most people know about the animation bugs but my main concern is about the topic you mentions, about how going to different areas can provoke huge changes in the ambient light of the game. In the Og and prepare to die version there was also some type of filter or something, I can't quite explain it, it might have simply been palate choice but there were so many areas that if I just stood there for a second I could tell that I was looking at something that had been made specifically in the concept art. Are after area after area all looked like a painting with balanced color and composition. Myself I come from the art world and Dark Souls 1 had a deliberateness and visual consistency that I feel like only Bloodborne recaptured. I will also admit to probably being the only person who liked the chromatic aberration in Bloodborne but, again, I come from the art world and I love the extra style and mystique. My second point of disagreement come from the controls in Dark Souls 1. I get it, everyone think the 4 directional rolling is limiting when you are locked on but that's the thing, you have full control when you are not locked on and it's not that much slower than dark souls3 and in fact 2 was by far the slowest. When I play Dark Souls 1 I'm rarely locked on and nearly always 2handing my weapon with just enough poise to not be knocked around by arrows. Played that way your rolls travel far and you get even a few more s and if you're rolling unlocked you have far more movement options than DS2. I also really liked the overs-wing mechanic in DS1 that no other game used. Essentially certain heavier weapons leave you a little wide open with a stagger animation if you miss. The reward for this was extra damage. So certain weapons like the clubs and halberds out performed in damage but made up for it with the higher risk. No other game had that mechanic and I felt that that created more sameness among the weapons, which against made DS1 distinct among the pack. Finally, while I'll admit that DS1 has a few bosses that are a little limp, they often make up for it with creative character designs, like ceaseless discharge or the moonlight butterfly. Moonlight butterfly feels mystical even if the fight is wimpy. Pinwheel is a compelling character even if the fight doesn't push back on a leveled character or Paladin Leeroy. All in all the cohesiveness of Dark Souls 1 puts it in a class of it's own for me with DS 2 and 3 going back and forth for 2nd place(with 3 usually winning)
Loved your notes from an artistic standpoint dude! I'm not well educated in that world so I did just try to work with what I felt had the most significant impact on me visually from each game. Also I'm a pretty big fan of the weight that the 'heavy' weapons in DS1 have too! It makes landing your blows all the more satisfying when you get better recovery to top it off.
DS1 > Demon Souls > DS3 > DS2 the poise mechanics in DS1 are the best of the lot DS3 while slightly more fluid in combat... honestly feels identical to DS1 ... cept any minor nick and cut will punish your unless you are trading with a heavy 2H weapon
Lol, Demon's Souls is an overly linear corridor sim. You are probably just a contrarian and like Majora's Mask more than OoT, which is simply incorrect.
the way i see it ds1: a masterpiece that started it (in a good way, i absolutely dont like demons souls) ds2: the best (although a bit janky) ds3: the safe option because theres nothing bad in this game but nothing too great hate me all you like
I don't mean to be rude, but I think the notion that "Dark Souls 1 is all about the beginning" is a terrible take. First off, it seems pretty clear from the approaches taken to Dark Souls 2 (Miyazaki stepping back his involvement altogether and the links to the first game being very limited) and 3 (where the game puts a lot of emphasis on the idea that letting things continue as they are is a bad thing, and the player should be happy to burn it all down and let the devs "paint a new world") that Miyazaki wasn't keen on sequels. Secondly, saying it's about "the beginning" misses the actual main story altogether, which is something like this: You are the hero of legend, destined to succeed the Great Lord and end the curse that plagues the world. Oh, but wait, that's the hackneyed storyline of a gazillion RPGs that came before Dark Souls, and actually destiny probably had nothing to do with your quest, and the only manner in which you can succeed the Great Lord is not to become a Great Lord yourself, but simply to self-immolate and become fuel for the kiln, most likely only putting the undead curse on temporary hiatus as Gwyn had done before you. Kaathe and Frampt each have different agendas, both of which are probably pretty undesirable, but interestingly, they each push you toward their goals with their version of the truth, and never with outright lies. This fits with the dark fantasy scenario of the game, as do the character weaknesses and unfortunate fates of most NPCs. Yes, there is a lot of lore in item descriptions and so on that tells you how things began, but that information is backstory, not the main story. And I feel like this subversion of video game story tropes is part of what makes Dark Souls 1 what it is, and the other two games aren't really able to recapture this magic. I also take some issue with the balance stuff in Dark Souls 1. Yes, you _can_ become powerful, but that's only in comparison to the later games, not to action RPGs in general. And note that it was still the first game that created the expectation that these are difficult games. Also, just because there are strong builds doesn't mean players will necessarily figure out those those builds exist or even _want_ to pick those builds if they're aware of them. And the absence of overpowered builds or items might not even be desirable. Some players might find an overpowered build to be fun, and having more freedom in that respect might be seen as a positive for overall balance rather than a clear negative. Some people see it as the game's hidden difficulty slider. Also, it's a nitpick, but conventionally, "tied for last place out of three options" does not give you a 3-2-1 ranking; it gives you two in second place and one at #1.
I find it difficult to agree that magic and miracles in DS3 are terrible. Yes, compared to DS2 for the first glance there is a difference, although I feel DS3 inclines the player to use them strategically rather than just spamming. Talismans give you extra pose if you activate their special skill and you can literally nuke enemies with your wrath of the gods, same with lightning stake. Let's not forget about the lighting arrow miracle! It's literally the panic attack ability - you conjure up the electric bow and while just holding it you simply observe how the enemy player goes through the meltdown. But I think I get your point - they do not as much damage and do not cause as much carnage as all spells from previous games... Forbidden Sun from DS2 could destroy most enemies in 2 hits.
It’s so subjective ds1 is so open and has so many ways to circumnavigate through and get back to where you want and no game has had such a profound impact on me since. I still play it regularly got 1000s of hours in it. Ds2 is either love or hate I disliked everything about it for the first 20 hours but once it clicked with me I feel in love with it and again I’ve put not as many hours in as ds1 but it’s closer 900 or so. Ds3 is by far the easier of the 3 and I loved every moment of the first play through but on replaying it only on the second play through I got bored with how linear it is that said it’s the most polished and smooth of the 3 just easy and boring. I want to say ds1 but that’s what everyone says it’s ds2 for me.
DS1 best lore/atmosphere DS2 versitile weapons/pvp DS3 boss fights/estus and ember mechanics IMO The best souls is often the first you have played, mine was ds2
Was introduced into soulsgames via ds3 and while I can see some of the appeal for ds1 or 2 I'm just too spoiled in terms of boss quality which for me is by far the most important aspect. Ds3 is prbl always gonn abe my favorite soulsgame, maybe even just favorite game ever (only real contender being Sekiro)
I played them in order. It's DS3 for me, then DS1, then DS2 as a fairly distant last. It's the gameplay first. DS3 feels like DS1 but better. DS2 feels like DS3 with ping even while playing offline. I play to unlock and participate in PVP, and Soul Memory is the worst thing I've ever seen on matchmaking. Souls earned, not souls attached. Meaning you are handicapped automatically if you ever spend souls (or lose a bloodstain) on something that isn't currently benefiting you. No upgrading items and then putting them away. No trying out spells that you will wind up never using. No buying consumables. No urns, pots, gems, arrows (DS3 resolved this by giving you a carry cap on consumables). And you need to waste a ring slot on something you bought in order to keep yourself from pvping your way out of your favorite level range. Then it's the environments and aesthetics. DS3DS1>DS2. DS2 gets a lot of credit for variety, but squanders that credit on how artificially *bright* everything is. Except in areas that are intended to be navigated by torchlight, there's an uncanny glow about everything. It sometimes feels like I'm playing Diddy Kong Racing with how bright things are even in areas without apparent sources of light. Also. _Clip-clop-clip-clop_ even with soft-soled footwear or sandals....on stone??? Splat-shplatch-shplortch. So loud. Running looks like "'scuse me, I need to catch my flight while I carry these briefcases." The only aesthetic credit I give here is that DS2 had better fashion than both of the others (looking at you, DS3, with your helmets that don't connect to your breastplates), and the player character actually has some HEMA training with how weapons work. Sometimes. If I wasn't ranking them against each other, I'd deduct points from all three for some absolutely ridiculous weapons. The Demon's Greataxe isn't an axe. There's no edge on it. It's a giant stony fungal infection on a stick. DS2 will tell me that the fume UGS is a sword and does slashing damage. And the *statue with a handle* is a sword also. DS3 isn't free and clear either. The Spiked Mace is enormous. How the hell is the Ashen One walking around with that much weight hanging that far out behind him? And so on. I'm sure DS2 is an alright game. Alright enough that I beat +0 and +1. Quit through +2 because I just wasn't enjoying it, and admitted I'd been deceiving myself and pretending to enjoy it for most of that time.
I didn't cover it in this video because I explicitly wanted to avoid the most talked about points regarding Dark Souls 2 (ADP, Soul Memory, Powerstance, etc) but yeah Soul Memory is HORRIBLE I tried playing Dark Souls 2 as a coop experience once with a friend, lost their memory range circa Sinner's Rise, and we never tried again, such a terrible system. Loved this comment btw you're a great writer.
Ptde can’t be replicated and I don’t feel 2 or 3 hold a candle to it obviously they’re all mechanicaly different but the world and how we traverse it in 1 is what makes it’s better than the rest
My Ranking based purely on personal enjoyment would be Elden Ring, Lies of P = Sekiro, DS3, DS1, DS2, Bloodborne (I havent played Demon Souls). I am not saying BB is the worst or even a bad game at all but it never clicked personally for me and I did not have much fun playing it (Probably also a 30 FPS issue). DS2 has some technical problems as well as level design that can be very unenjoyable and it has very little that would be above its peers. DS1 is a classic and I had my fun with it but its aged quite a bit and many bosses in it today are just very simple. DS3 has some ofthe best bosses in the entire series including Elden Ring. Lies of P and Sekiro just have superb combat with Lies of P maybe even taking the lead because its not "just" parrying but Sekiro just has some really great bosses. Elden Ring of course at the top because it offers so many different options.
@@jarlwhiterun7478 I am well aware I just included the for fun. It should be fairly obvious that they are not no? Most intelligent people would get that it is so obvious that the likelyhood of me not knowing that basic fact would be very low. But thanks for pointing it out anyway Cpt. Obvious.
I haven't played Lies of P yet but it looks pretty cool! I'd encourage you to give Bloodborne another crack if you ever get the inclination to, it's super worth it! And thanks for your thoughts dude.
@@redfish337 and Agility is really only bad because it’s an meaningless number. If the menu showed each thing it did and when those improved it would be obvious how important it is to roll builds.
@@been_rly_n2_paragliding_latelyI think being completely unfamiliar is even better, because those people would read the in-game description that tells them that increasing their Agility makes rolling easier. People that came from DS1 and assumed that they are experts had issues, as they just completely ignored a new stat as they assumed it would be just as useless as Resistance used to be.
I'm going to be honest I think it's too you have so many different ways to become overpowered and broken there's many different weapon combinations to try and on top of that you can literally infuse boss weapons with different types of gems or stones or whatever they're called to make them so broken and overpowered to the point where you can literally obliterate even new game plus all over again with them the armor set actually look like they're supposed to fit you correctly your characters don't look fat and bloated like they need to go to the bathroom every 5 seconds and there's just so much about dark souls 2 that I think is great compared to one and three I think that three is maybe the second best but it's still not as great as to I'm sorry to say it I know that's going to piss a lot of people off but that's my opinion the closest game that does better than dark souls 2 is literally elden ring
I prefer them in the reverse order they came out. DS1 was very good when it came out, but didn't age well. The only real thing it has is the interconnectivity. DS2 had a lot of heat things going for it. The story was fantastic if you understood it. It was about the world falling apart and the physical world itself was falling into dementia. It had forgotten the gods, forgotten the name of all the kings save Vendrick. It was in the process of forgetting itself - all because of the first sin of Gwynn linking the first flame. That's also why you have very weird areas right next to each other. However, DS3 is the GOAT. The combat is much more Bloodborne like. The graphics are obviously smoother and higher definition. And yes the bosses are superb. But there's a few things I wish they kept from DS2 like being able to change the boss arena like Mytha's arena being able to mostly be drained of poison. Or bosses doing special moves of you defeat them hitless like Sir Alonne. Or the fact that there is a bit of new content in NG+.
Seriously, how is DS2 getting so much respect? It's inferior to the first and third in every single department, but this guy's consistently marking it above them. Utter nonsense for anyone who's played all three to mark 2 as superior in any way.
I love all 3 of them equally. It’s like picking your favorite child lol you love them all equally. Although I do favor ds3 even more because of the bosses lol
Haha it'd be difficult to do that with my current setup but when the emulator's more stable I would love to cover Bloodborne, thanks for the love madhattress!
the only things dark souls 2 did even remotly right was the different duel weilding combinations, story, and the graphics but tbh the combat felt shakey at best unlike 1 and 3 which had what dark souls 2 had but also everything else granted dks 1 had its downs like how it feels like it was rushed as it feels like the end game bosses were kinda halfassed like they needed to have better movesets than nito with only like 5 skeletons 2 skele giants and a bunch of mini skeles and the arena for nito was small plus nito shoulved moved quicker than the pace of a grandmother with stage 4 cancer like no toxic mist attacks? he even swings his giant sword super slowly and takes forever to lift it back up. I have so many notes on dark souls 1 but Gravelord Nito was done flipin dirty like in the lore it states his soul is still powerful your telling me that this weakling killed a bunch of ancient stone archdragons with tiny damage slow attack speeds and a tiny group of skeletons pulease.
Its got to be DS3. It was a toss up for me for awhile between 1 and 3, but 3 is just so much more fun to replay personally. I dread so many parts of 1, like Tomb of the Giants, Catacombs, New Londo, Blighttown, and Lost Izalith
That's an interesting take! The flexibility in how you approach all the different areas in Dark Souls 1 (giving you the opportunity to avoid and focus on certain places) is one of my favourite aspects of the game, and gives it much more replay value imo, but Dark Souls 3 is certainly a much more streamlined game for repeat playthroughs if refining your runs is what you're into.
There are so many intentional contrarians in this section. Reading thru waves of cope. I'd argue it's ds3 > ds1 > ds2. I wasn't fortunate enough to play pre sotfs ds2.
@@KNGDDDEScholar vastly improved the game, which is why over 90% of people that played both versions prefer the improved Scholar version. When Vanilla DS2 was released people hated it, as that version was gankier, more frustrating, had more cheap deaths and worse runbacks. Since Scholar has been released the community turned their opinion on this game around, as it's now actually enjoyable.
@@Domo3000 I find that very hard to believe consider scholar has the same issues. As far as I'm aware there are ppl lime me who recognize ds2 as a conceptual failure, ppl that enjoy mitazaki games(me), masochists, and ppl that cope because mauler made a good case for the game a while ago.
DeS lacks the magic of other games, only have 2 memorable bosses which are Flamelurker and old king allant, most bosses are gimmick or can be cheesed such as old hero with thief ring, the game is pretty easy and short compared to the rest, but the world tendency was a very good feature. DS2 is overhated and is definitely a pretty good game and arguably got the best hub but I wouldn't say it's the best. DS1 is a masterpiece and the way firelink was interconnected with everything was just peak game design, it has arguably the best lore, some of the most memorable bosses of all times and an actual working poise. Unfortunately what hold back DS1 from being the best is it's latter half that was rushed, copy paste izalith, cancer tomb of the giant, invisible bridges in the crystal cave and the most disappointing boss in the soul trilogy (bed of chaos). DS3 on the other hand is a little too linear, magic is very weak compared to its predecessors and poise is nonexistent. However, DS3 is without a doubt the most fun game out of them all, it's got the best replayability, smooth and refined gameplay, best builds, best bosses, great areas, best multiplayer and best DLCs. DS3 is simply the best overall. I agree with most of your points and it's also a very well made video, keep up the good work 👍
I can't believe you didn't slap DS3 with a 1 in terms of balance. It is melee simulator. Nothing else is viable, and making your weapons anything outside of bleed/quality/str/dex is a straight hyper nerf to your dmg. It is insanity how gimped anything outside of melee is to the point that any spell that isn't strictly utility is almost completely worthless even from a "pull that mob" standpoint. FP is just there for your weapon arts and nothing else, and even then those are so hyper unbalanced it's not even funny. People like to pretend stuff is viable and defend it, but you can beat all of these games with your fists if you wanted to, that doesn't mean they're viable. Not to mention how poise is changed and really only works on melee. Er, sorry for the mini rant out of the blue. lol
You know what, in hindsight, I actually agree with this quite a lot, I took the fact that there's a little bit of leeway in how you approach melee builds as a reason to give it a 2, but the argument for a 1 isn't unreasonable either.
When dark souls 3 first came out I was pretty disappointed with the length of the worlds. And felt something left more to desired from it. When the dlcs came out that’s when it felt complete and some like a masterpiece how ever without the dlcs I think ds3 was left with more to be desired. With less being more kind of mindset ds3 was going for. Ds3 is my least played and less favorite of the 3. Not the least favorite but less favorite I don’t have a least favorite souls game.
The one you like the most... there i just saved 47 minutes of your life, use them in something meaningful like actually playing a game that you enjoy, instead of tryng to validate your own taste and opinion whit an complete random in youtube. Also Dark soul 1 is the best and everyone knows that lol.
@@AndrewAung1992He's just sharing his opinion. The remark at the end about DS1 makes me think it's just a lighthearted attempt at comedy. You on the other hand do come off as being passive aggressive, and you're making it about the person instead of about the subject matter. If being passive aggressive is an issue, then why are you doing it towards him? Do you think it's justified because he says something you disagree with? If so, then how are the two of you any different? Since he is sharing his disagreement, just like you are doing. Commenting on people's grammar is usually a clear cut sign people have no argument, but still want to show everyone they disagree. Not everyone is a native English speaker, on the internet you're bound to run in to people that are not as proficient in the language. It's not an argument, especially not if you are able to understand the contents of what is being said. You also assume bad faith by claiming he's not watched the video. It could be true, but you can't possibly know that. So why assert such a thing? Having said that, I enjoyed the video very much. I went along and looked at how I would score the games in the categories. I enjoy these games very much and I don't think it's a waste of time hearing what other people think about the games I also enjoy very much. It's not about validating my opinion, it's seeing how other people view the games. What they may think is important, perhaps they look at details I never noticed before. Or maybe they prefer other aspects of the game than I do. Some people are interested in that, others find it a waste of time. Not everyone has to like the things I like, specifically how I like them. I think calling these discussions a waste of time is a highly subjective thing. To him it may as well be, I enjoy it so I disagree with the notion. It doesn't stop my enjoyment of these kinds of videos, and it shouldn't stop yours.
A meaningless conversation that all that results is people fighting over who’s right. Let’s just talk about what we like about these games and move on. Somehow ER is in the comments and the same mouth breathers are pretending it’s worse than satan. Or DS2 mentioned at all causing the same nonsense convos again. Meaningless.
Dark souls 2 will always be the best for me. It had the balls to be different and it asks you different questions.
And not just that it presents itself very differently with the beginning and the firekeepers telling you how your memory might not be as reliable as you thought.
Idk man, trying to be objective with this is hard. Sure DS3 is buttery smooth and more streamlined. But no game has ever made me FEEL the same way DS1 makes me feel. Lost magic in that one.
I completely agree, That's why I tried to cast a wide net with my discussion and make sure I touch on topics that each game can shine in!
Also you're absolutely right, I'd be surprised if any game could recapture what the first half of Dark Souls did, totally timeless.
i had that w/Ds2 (it was my first souls i picked it up 10 days after release )i played it till 5am the night before we flew to san juan for vacation.The heides tower fake orenstein was a roadblock at that time😂😂😂😂😂-and we i came home and immediately downloaded Des onto my ps3 and went to gamestop to buy Ds for 16$ .Ds2 had blew my mind and i needed souls content like a heroin addict.i mean i hadnt even gotten 25% thru ds2 and i bought the 2 othere😂😂😂😂😂these games can be lifechanging
If you played DS1 first, then that tracks. You would not as likely have that same feeling of "magic" about the first one if you got your start with DS2 or DS3.
@@JJ-qo7th actually the order in which I played the games was Bloodborne, Sekiro, DS3, then DS1.
I don't think so, object just means ignore how you feel about something and talk about what's actually there. When I talk about the abysmal Ai in Dark Souls 2, that is a thing that exists and isn't subjective. There's a boss that outright kills themselves that people use to farm Souls, there are NPC invaders that can't see through ladders, there's various pathing issues with mobs in areas they obviously weren't meant to be in. You don't have to be a developer to see these things and those are objective criticisms. So if you want to be objective, never end an observation with "but it didn't bother me" or "I didn't think it was that bad" or "I never saw that when I played", because that's when it gets subjective.
If i took anything away from this video, its that more people need to play more ds2, desperately.
My personal favorite is Dark Souls II, but Demon’s Souls is the most slept on in the extended series.
I think I prefer it specifically because of the variety of viable builds available. Especially with the amazing spells and power-stancing weapons of different types, two playthroughs usually look and feel nothing alike.
Terrible taste in games
Love dark souls 2
It’s by far the most innovative in the series. Dark Souls 2 is slept on by so many. Perfect blend of the tactical slow approach from DS1 and the speed of DS3.
@@jarlwhiterun7478 Terrible cock taste
Demon's Souls is criminally slept on and I personally think the PS3 version is the superior experience.
Ds1 is my favorite. Like many other people are saying, theres just some magic, some beautiful feeling of playing the game that no other souls game has given me. It gave me a similar feeling to playing skyrim and oblivion for the first time.
There is something just... enchanting about how it's the first in a lot of instances. I know Demon's Souls is technically THE first for these games, and I love Demon's Souls, it's kinda tied for second place in my heart next to Bloodborne, surprisingly. Dark Souls 1 was just that spark that got this whole bonfire going.
One of the things that I personally like about DS1 and DS2 is the how the world feels. You can go down different paths and the world actually opens up. Sure DS2 doesn't make sense at times, but that's the charm of it. DS3 feels like I'm walking down a path with 2 little forks in the road with some cool things to see on the way to end, but no real side tangents other than Arch Dragon Peak, The Demon Ruins, and the Unttended Graves. DS3 has the best combat hand down as well as the bosses. DS1 and 2 are clunky, but that good kind of clunky. I could probably keep ranbleing on different parts of the games that I enjoy and ones that are worse. But overall, Its a tie between DS1 and 2 for me.
One thing I disagree with you on DS2's story/world is that it's supposed to be super disconnected from the original with only bits and pieces connecting it to it. A lot of the world is just repurposed by other kingdoms/rulers pulling bits and pieces to their cultures. Item entires that are ambiguous about who they are representing show how much time has passed. Even statues of Gywn in the blue Cathedral have eagle heads A perfect example is Have's armor which states "The origin of the name Havel is not clear. Some say it was the warrior who wore the armor, but others say it was the name of a great kingdom ruined in a barbaric war". That just my two cents. Great video overall!
At the end of the day, if you've *actually* played them all in their entirety, you love & hate each one in their own way. I can think of so many moments between all of them where im ready to pack it in (Lost Izalith, Shrine of Amana, Smouldering Lake, literally any DLC add filled area) only to find myself completely enamored down the line by the satisfaction of tying everything together. & that is the beauty of it all. You're either a favortism virgin or a chad sum of all enjoyer.
I only half agree, people can have favourites for their own reasons. DS2 has more replay value, DS3 has a faster pace, DS1 has the design of the first half of the game.
I love dark souls 2 the most. I never understood the hate for ADP. I only use that stat for tanky characters.
From time to time I think about how much better blacksmithing was in DS2 and that I rarely hear it come up, but it's potentially more relevant to a 'testing things' character than it is to lore or straightforward builds
Being able to get Titanite slabs more or less infinitely in a single NG cycle was a blessing I miss heavily in the other games
You can't say that you want to rank the games objectively and then conclude that ds1 and ds2 are on the same level.
It's a bold strategy Cotton, lets see if it pays off for 'em.
The local complexities of the areas are present on all through DS2, being enhanced on the DLC. I think it is the game that did it the best. At the expense of the global map complexities from 1.
My personal favorite is Dark Souls II as well, and I would massively downrate the "area" value for DS1, since you have:
- sometimes a bad bonfire/shortcut placement and frequency
- unfinished things like demon ruins copy&paste area
- bulls**t areas like crystal caves (the invisible bridges...)
In comparison to that, almost all the areas in DS2 and DS3 are somehow beautiful, nicely playable and somehow immersive. 2-4-4 if you ask me.
DS2 immersive bro what about that transition to iron keep 😭 I know it’s a game but wtf (Dw DS2 my fav souls game)
@@thatoneguy7388its immersive if you pretend to be like your character, losing memories due to the curse
@@TheJungIeDragon Fr that intro had me hooked I literally love that we finally got to see why we hollow and fuck the fire let me do my own shit
@@thatoneguy7388 The transition to dragon's aerie as well.
There are more areas that would stick one in another, I think, and it confused me a lot in the beginning.
The areas themselves are cool.
About those connections: In the end it is like Drancleic is painted as a dream world, an unreal one. Everything is possible, and I don't know, after playing it through roughly 7 times, I must admit that it feels absolutely right this way.
You know, "perhaps you've seen it, maybe in a dream".
@@BaerndXP yeah, these nonsensical connections and overlapping areas were created deliberately.
Here's a quote from the Design Works interview:
"Next we move onto The Iron Keep, although many people found the fact that these locations were linked to be something of a mystery."
Art Director Daisuke Satake: "Of course, conventional wisdom would place magma underground but when you start to consider this lake and realize that there must be a reason for it being there, then the world becomes a little more interesting. I tried to implement ideas like this throughout the game, to give the player something curious and unexpected."
Here's a video about it I made: ua-cam.com/video/GOpVOFJwGXI/v-deo.htmlsi=S6XAqnPq0tMSePQQ
Dark souls 1 was the game that got me into fromsoftwares games entirely
It really did cure my depression with its Dark yet fascinating story telling and its interconnected lands at one point you can be at this undead burg but then you can find an underground lake of ash that shocks and awes you
Dark souls 1 truly is the one
I feel the same because there was just too much jank that effected my enjoyment of Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 felt like it nostalgia baited too hard in the base game.
you forgot to give at ds2 extra 14 points for having the balls while being berated by the community for 10 years and not giving a fuck, or maybe thats a personal bias. nonetheless very nice video I love hearing other people put to words what we all feel about these astounding games
Dark souls 2 world is made so much better when you understand the art direction. The reason why the world feels so strange and impossible with its level layout is because that’s exactly how it is supposed to make you feel. The story is more focused on the affects of the undead curse and one of the side affects of hollowing is forgetting how you ended up somewhere and not really knowing why. It’s out right stated as such a couple times throughout the game one of which being in the opening cutscene. It’s an artistic choice and a good way to immerse the player the confusion of the player character has been feeling since he entered drangliec. It’s my personal favorite for that reason and even dark souls 3 took some notes when you look at the Dreg heap. None of that makes sense realistically. I think Dark Souls 2s world deserves more points personally
Good video bro. Only played dark souls 3 so it’s my favorite lol
I appreciate it dude!
Dark Souls 3 was the game that REALLY got me into the series, the more modern mechanics make it so much more approachable, but learning it is also a great foundation for going back and appreciating the earlier entries too!
Same here, only played DS3 and consider it tied for the most fun I've had playing a game with the Halflife 2 series. I'm watching a DS1 playthrough right now just to get an idea of what it was like, but don't really have much desire to play it. At least yet.
I feel like the reason the spells/miracles are so bad in DS3 is because, if you try and do the opposite they become overpowered. We see this in Elden Ring as well, constant updates needed to change around spells. It makes them bounce across from overpowered to unviable over and over.
Yeah, it's a difficult thing to get right, especially when there are so many different spells to balance. I definitely lean more on the side of them being 'over' than 'under' powered though, makes the game more fun for every playstyle.
2 is the best. end of discussion.
Overall I'd have to say 3. Smooth & refined combat. Weapon Arts add a new dimension to combat. Most consistent boss lineup, along with having a handful of some of the best bosses in the series.
Honestly all three games are good for their own reasons and are worth repeat playthroughs imo.
Same. I'll add the world itself & atmosphere. Finest dark fantasy world ever created. Insanely refined & polished
And the most replay value. I've played the fuck out of Dark Souls 3 because it seems to get better with each playthrough
My issues with 3 is that it's a bit nostalgia baiting, it feels like a "best of" album, which means you get a lot of the good, but it's also not a lot of new. As for the weapon arts, they were interesting, but FAR better realized in Elden Ring and looking back at them in Dark Souls 3, I barely ended up using a great deal of them, with only a few really good standouts.
Demon's souls and DS2 are tied first place for me.
Ds1 is easily the worst for me. I never felt the "magic" in it, and to this day, I don't enjoy playing it.
Ds2 Is my favorite in terms of world/lore and by virtue of invading being my favorite thing in all of gaming. Drangelic is such an interesting land and I love that we are exploring another nameless kingdom in a long line of fire fading.
Ds3 takes it for gameplay, level design, and ost for me. For a few of you who don't know, level design and world design are two different things.
DS1, DS2, DeS. It's impossible for me to decide wich is, and they all share first place. DS1 as a piece of art, and emotional rollercoaster, DS2 as a very innovative and moody expierience, and DeS as stright up survival horror by structure. They all do the same thing but with different tools.
P.S. Story is the weirdes section of the video. Considering how you constructed the narrative (beginning, consequences, end) there shoudn't be any score. All three games handles this particular consepts very well, and from my perspective all shoud get no score\highest score. The only game wich can get pat on the head is DS2 coz it shows much more intimate part of the curse, more personal, wich is absence in both other games.
I totally see where you're coming from!
I tried to base the 'story' section on how much the narrative is directly conveyed to the player and how well that's executed when it's done, which I think Dark Souls 2 did the best, though in hindsight it may have been fairer to give Dark Souls 1+3 a four and Dark Souls 2 a five for the sake of giving each game more credit.
I appreciate your thoughts dude!
Ds1 is the best for me it kickstarted it all and it’s just so well designed and I love both endings
I recently finished shadow of the erdtree, after that I played and finished DS3 + DLCs (it was my first time). Then I decided to play something a little bit older and classic, so I picked DS1 Remastered. The first thing that I started noticing was how charming and charismatic it was compared to DS3. Everything felt like it had that type of aura, it felt more immersive and interesting. After a couple hours I found myself struggling with the gargoyles and in general with some enemies, which was weird to me because I had just finished DS3 and ER and I didn't had that much trouble with those games beside a few bosses that were meant to be hard. I thought to myself "man, I don't think I'll finish this game, it feels so slow and clunky". After a few more tries, I beat the gargoyles. I still felt that the game was just way clunkier and slower... But then I realized that it wasn't a bad thing and saw the beauty of it. I had to think more carefully about every move that I made. Most enemies/bosses are also slow or predictable, I just had to adapt that way of playing.
One of the best things to me about DS1 is the world design (I know, nothing new). It just made the game feel like an adventure, a journey. I know some people dislike the second half of the game but I didn't find it that dislikable (I actually liked it as much as the first half). Overall I just think the game is way more memorable than DS3... And don't get me wrong I love DS3. The average person will probably enjoy it more because it feels more modern, smoother and linear, but it just doesn't live up to what DS1 is.
DS1: Turn based game
DS2: ???
DS3: Roll slop
Ds1: great shield supremacy
Ds2: hell
Ds3: infinite stamina
So real
Dark Souls 1 kind of reminded me of a grown-up version of Ocarina of Time XD
Armored core is the best dark souls
DS2 would have been my least favorite in the trilogy... if DS1 was actually a finished game.
What do you mean?
Izalith section moment
The last half of the game is unfinished. Even Miyazaki said so. The first half and the dlc is incredible but the last half of the game is quite bad. At least IMO anyways
@@MattDean-o1t They even were sad about Some things, like Gwyn being trivialized by parries, or the biggest case of all, Bed of Chaos, which they tried to rework It but they couldn't do anything with the time restrictions. And on the first version of DS It was even worse before, your progress wasn't even saved after destroying the weak points! I feel pity for those first players...
DS1. Simple
Dark souls 0 the prequel
Hey man, interesting video!
Always hard to talk about this topic in a video which aims to be under 1h, but I think you did a good job!
The only point I hardly disagree on are the quality of the bosses. Ds1 Bosses are mostly way more gimmicky then the other two games and that is why they "don't hold up" all to well. But I think longevity is the wrong lense to see this through. Most bosses in ds1 are a pure knowledge check, so you can only solve them once and try exceedingly harder methods after that. But the first time solving these bosses is where I would try to put focus on it. The problem with this is obviously, that you as a player don't get that, if you didn't start with ds1, but the solving mechanics go though all of the souls games. That's why as you can play each game only once the first time, also you can only play the first souls-game once, if that makes sense. In other words, the first game you played will always hold a special place, since it's the biggest hurdle you had to overcome. That's why I think that longevity makes ds1 bosses looks so much cheesier then the other games, since the other because most solved them first and then used that knowledge against the other two's.
Won't defend bed of chaos though. :D
I played ds2 last out of the three games, and its always been my favorite, but I definitely know its not the best
I think an interesting part about why DS2 is so different is because its designer was the producer of the old King's Field trilogy. Thus, it's not surprising why it has a more methodical approach to level design, variety of items and all. They're integral King's Field tropes, as I would say that Miyazaki leans more on elements which emphasise action and combat specifically, especially from Bloodborne onwards.
DID YOU JUST SLIDE DOWN A LADDER IN DS1??????
Yeah, you can slide down ladders in DS1. It is the exact opposite of what you would think though. You have to stop completely, then press the button to slide.
/head explodes
@@TheRedRobin96 and there have been a few times where I just fell through the floor, so the developers did not even test it on all ladders
Yeah you only have to hold the sprint button instead of sprint and move down.
@@Domo3000 I'd recall that only happens if you have dsfix and 60fps enabled. Could be that it happens also on remastered though, which would further rise the question of why they even bothered to remaster the game without actually fixing anytying.
The best Dark Souls game is Elden Ring. Obviously.
Let me just say… it’s the best all around but some of the others are just more satisfying to play and more fulfilling I’m not saying Elden ring isn’t but I just think some of the others are more fulfilling
That’s not even part of the souls series 🤦♂️
@@orest395 thats the joke
it's the worst dark souls game... obviously
@@orest395 it is in my book if you compare it to bloodborne and sekiro as being actual unique and new IPs
Dark Souls 2
I don't think so man, DS2 is great however flaws are ADP being stat, the run back to Blue Smelter/Sir Alonne, the slow Estus Flask healing system and just bad mechanics in general. It's the black sheep of the family and when you play you realize why.
@@AndrewAung1992 Andrew i disagree wholeheartedly
@@RotunderGood for you
@@AndrewAung1992 Thank you
@@Rotunder You're welcome it would be nice, if you told me the reasons for the disagreement and we could have a nice discussion.
i gotta agree with your rankings, my only gripe with ds3 is how they nerfed spells/miracles to some being useless. gael is still one of fromsoft’s most dynamic and cinematic fights ever.
Easy Answer, Dark Souls 1.
Dark Souls 2 could have a best PvP of any game in human history and I still can't give it a pass because it's been TEN YEARS and it still has bugs that never should have existed in the first place, some of the most bizarre design decisions I've ever seen and they've had like four DLC and a definitive edition to get things right and the most we got out of it moving forward were a different estus upgrade system, power-stance and... torches?
Sadly, Dark Souls 3 is just a "best of" album that plays a lot on nostalgia a bit too much. Some of the most interesting systems it introduced got better refined in Elden Ring so they don't work well as standout features. I will give it some credit, it's a good entry point for new players in many cases, though I'd argue that Dark Souls 1 is as well, it has some of the best boss music, it was ported for PC WAY better and it doesn't have any bosses or areas that are as egregious as Bed of Chaos and the Tomb of the Giants. It also has a pretty satisfying conclusion for the series.
Bark souls
I feel like your critique of Dark Souls 2 world misses a but of the point of both world and story, because you hear from sevreral people about the world itself feeling unreliable, that it is crazy, or untrustworthy to traverse it.
This is easy. The best Souls game is the one you personaly wnjoy playing the most.
Solved.
Loved the way you did this video :D I dont agree with all the "5"' 's :D but overall the way you did it and the reasons made sense :D
I really appreciate that dude thanks!
As my first time approaching topics which are genuinely pretty contentious, getting my reasoning straight and understandable is something that I tried my best to convey, I'm glad you're into it!
I disagree with you on two points and they both are in regards to Dark Souls 1.
Now before saying my first disagreement I'm going to say that I believe that it is possibly due to you playing the remastered version of the game. The issue I have is that the OG/prepare to die versions of Dark Souls1 had very cohesive visuals that kind of fall apart in the remaster. Most people know about the animation bugs but my main concern is about the topic you mentions, about how going to different areas can provoke huge changes in the ambient light of the game. In the Og and prepare to die version there was also some type of filter or something, I can't quite explain it, it might have simply been palate choice but there were so many areas that if I just stood there for a second I could tell that I was looking at something that had been made specifically in the concept art. Are after area after area all looked like a painting with balanced color and composition.
Myself I come from the art world and Dark Souls 1 had a deliberateness and visual consistency that I feel like only Bloodborne recaptured. I will also admit to probably being the only person who liked the chromatic aberration in Bloodborne but, again, I come from the art world and I love the extra style and mystique.
My second point of disagreement come from the controls in Dark Souls 1. I get it, everyone think the 4 directional rolling is limiting when you are locked on but that's the thing, you have full control when you are not locked on and it's not that much slower than dark souls3 and in fact 2 was by far the slowest. When I play Dark Souls 1 I'm rarely locked on and nearly always 2handing my weapon with just enough poise to not be knocked around by arrows. Played that way your rolls travel far and you get even a few more s and if you're rolling unlocked you have far more movement options than DS2. I also really liked the overs-wing mechanic in DS1 that no other game used.
Essentially certain heavier weapons leave you a little wide open with a stagger animation if you miss. The reward for this was extra damage. So certain weapons like the clubs and halberds out performed in damage but made up for it with the higher risk. No other game had that mechanic and I felt that that created more sameness among the weapons, which against made DS1 distinct among the pack.
Finally, while I'll admit that DS1 has a few bosses that are a little limp, they often make up for it with creative character designs, like ceaseless discharge or the moonlight butterfly. Moonlight butterfly feels mystical even if the fight is wimpy. Pinwheel is a compelling character even if the fight doesn't push back on a leveled character or Paladin Leeroy.
All in all the cohesiveness of Dark Souls 1 puts it in a class of it's own for me with DS 2 and 3 going back and forth for 2nd place(with 3 usually winning)
Loved your notes from an artistic standpoint dude!
I'm not well educated in that world so I did just try to work with what I felt had the most significant impact on me visually from each game.
Also I'm a pretty big fan of the weight that the 'heavy' weapons in DS1 have too! It makes landing your blows all the more satisfying when you get better recovery to top it off.
DS1 > Demon Souls > DS3 > DS2
the poise mechanics in DS1 are the best of the lot
DS3 while slightly more fluid in combat... honestly feels identical to DS1 ... cept any minor nick and cut will punish your unless you are trading with a heavy 2H weapon
Lol, Demon's Souls is an overly linear corridor sim. You are probably just a contrarian and like Majora's Mask more than OoT, which is simply incorrect.
DS1 is boring
💯🍻
@@jarlwhiterun7478 And Dark Souls 3 is an overly linear courtyard sim.
High quality content. I came for dark souls but subscribed to get more eyes on your channel.
Thanks for the love dude!
if you consider the Mods, community fixes and Overhauls for each Dark Souls Game, it can screw up your ranking pretty quick
the way i see it
ds1: a masterpiece that started it (in a good way, i absolutely dont like demons souls)
ds2: the best (although a bit janky)
ds3: the safe option because theres nothing bad in this game but nothing too great
hate me all you like
1 bad thing about ds3: linearity
DS2 is one of the worst games ever made
@@jarlwhiterun7478clearly you've never played dark souls 2. you're just repeating what some youtuber said
No hate, I agree that DS3 played too safe. Which is a shame, DS3 best lore and areas is when it does not relies on DS1.
dark souls
Dark Souls is the best, Dark Souls SOTFS 2nd, Dark Souls 3 in 3rd.
No pressure mate but I'm deleting the two that don't win at the end of this video. I can’t keep flitting between them constantly 👌🏻
I don't mean to be rude, but I think the notion that "Dark Souls 1 is all about the beginning" is a terrible take. First off, it seems pretty clear from the approaches taken to Dark Souls 2 (Miyazaki stepping back his involvement altogether and the links to the first game being very limited) and 3 (where the game puts a lot of emphasis on the idea that letting things continue as they are is a bad thing, and the player should be happy to burn it all down and let the devs "paint a new world") that Miyazaki wasn't keen on sequels. Secondly, saying it's about "the beginning" misses the actual main story altogether, which is something like this:
You are the hero of legend, destined to succeed the Great Lord and end the curse that plagues the world. Oh, but wait, that's the hackneyed storyline of a gazillion RPGs that came before Dark Souls, and actually destiny probably had nothing to do with your quest, and the only manner in which you can succeed the Great Lord is not to become a Great Lord yourself, but simply to self-immolate and become fuel for the kiln, most likely only putting the undead curse on temporary hiatus as Gwyn had done before you. Kaathe and Frampt each have different agendas, both of which are probably pretty undesirable, but interestingly, they each push you toward their goals with their version of the truth, and never with outright lies. This fits with the dark fantasy scenario of the game, as do the character weaknesses and unfortunate fates of most NPCs. Yes, there is a lot of lore in item descriptions and so on that tells you how things began, but that information is backstory, not the main story.
And I feel like this subversion of video game story tropes is part of what makes Dark Souls 1 what it is, and the other two games aren't really able to recapture this magic.
I also take some issue with the balance stuff in Dark Souls 1. Yes, you _can_ become powerful, but that's only in comparison to the later games, not to action RPGs in general. And note that it was still the first game that created the expectation that these are difficult games. Also, just because there are strong builds doesn't mean players will necessarily figure out those those builds exist or even _want_ to pick those builds if they're aware of them. And the absence of overpowered builds or items might not even be desirable. Some players might find an overpowered build to be fun, and having more freedom in that respect might be seen as a positive for overall balance rather than a clear negative. Some people see it as the game's hidden difficulty slider.
Also, it's a nitpick, but conventionally, "tied for last place out of three options" does not give you a 3-2-1 ranking; it gives you two in second place and one at #1.
It’s 2.
Demons souls
2
Your content is awesome dude
Thanks a bunch dude, I'm trying my best to make each video better than the last!
I find it difficult to agree that magic and miracles in DS3 are terrible. Yes, compared to DS2 for the first glance there is a difference, although I feel DS3 inclines the player to use them strategically rather than just spamming. Talismans give you extra pose if you activate their special skill and you can literally nuke enemies with your wrath of the gods, same with lightning stake. Let's not forget about the lighting arrow miracle! It's literally the panic attack ability - you conjure up the electric bow and while just holding it you simply observe how the enemy player goes through the meltdown. But I think I get your point - they do not as much damage and do not cause as much carnage as all spells from previous games... Forbidden Sun from DS2 could destroy most enemies in 2 hits.
dark souls 1 is the best, darks souls 2 was the most fun, dark souls 3 was a Mish mash for fan service, eden ring bored the nuts off me
You are beyond edgy!
It’s so subjective ds1 is so open and has so many ways to circumnavigate through and get back to where you want and no game has had such a profound impact on me since. I still play it regularly got 1000s of hours in it.
Ds2 is either love or hate I disliked everything about it for the first 20 hours but once it clicked with me I feel in love with it and again I’ve put not as many hours in as ds1 but it’s closer 900 or so.
Ds3 is by far the easier of the 3 and I loved every moment of the first play through but on replaying it only on the second play through I got bored with how linear it is that said it’s the most polished and smooth of the 3 just easy and boring. I want to say ds1 but that’s what everyone says it’s ds2 for me.
DS1 best lore/atmosphere
DS2 versitile weapons/pvp
DS3 boss fights/estus and ember mechanics
IMO
The best souls is often the first you have played, mine was ds2
Was introduced into soulsgames via ds3 and while I can see some of the appeal for ds1 or 2 I'm just too spoiled in terms of boss quality which for me is by far the most important aspect. Ds3 is prbl always gonn abe my favorite soulsgame, maybe even just favorite game ever (only real contender being Sekiro)
I played them in order. It's DS3 for me, then DS1, then DS2 as a fairly distant last. It's the gameplay first. DS3 feels like DS1 but better. DS2 feels like DS3 with ping even while playing offline. I play to unlock and participate in PVP, and Soul Memory is the worst thing I've ever seen on matchmaking. Souls earned, not souls attached. Meaning you are handicapped automatically if you ever spend souls (or lose a bloodstain) on something that isn't currently benefiting you. No upgrading items and then putting them away. No trying out spells that you will wind up never using. No buying consumables. No urns, pots, gems, arrows (DS3 resolved this by giving you a carry cap on consumables). And you need to waste a ring slot on something you bought in order to keep yourself from pvping your way out of your favorite level range.
Then it's the environments and aesthetics. DS3DS1>DS2. DS2 gets a lot of credit for variety, but squanders that credit on how artificially *bright* everything is. Except in areas that are intended to be navigated by torchlight, there's an uncanny glow about everything. It sometimes feels like I'm playing Diddy Kong Racing with how bright things are even in areas without apparent sources of light. Also. _Clip-clop-clip-clop_ even with soft-soled footwear or sandals....on stone??? Splat-shplatch-shplortch. So loud. Running looks like "'scuse me, I need to catch my flight while I carry these briefcases." The only aesthetic credit I give here is that DS2 had better fashion than both of the others (looking at you, DS3, with your helmets that don't connect to your breastplates), and the player character actually has some HEMA training with how weapons work. Sometimes.
If I wasn't ranking them against each other, I'd deduct points from all three for some absolutely ridiculous weapons. The Demon's Greataxe isn't an axe. There's no edge on it. It's a giant stony fungal infection on a stick. DS2 will tell me that the fume UGS is a sword and does slashing damage. And the *statue with a handle* is a sword also. DS3 isn't free and clear either. The Spiked Mace is enormous. How the hell is the Ashen One walking around with that much weight hanging that far out behind him? And so on.
I'm sure DS2 is an alright game. Alright enough that I beat +0 and +1. Quit through +2 because I just wasn't enjoying it, and admitted I'd been deceiving myself and pretending to enjoy it for most of that time.
I didn't cover it in this video because I explicitly wanted to avoid the most talked about points regarding Dark Souls 2 (ADP, Soul Memory, Powerstance, etc) but yeah Soul Memory is HORRIBLE I tried playing Dark Souls 2 as a coop experience once with a friend, lost their memory range circa Sinner's Rise, and we never tried again, such a terrible system.
Loved this comment btw you're a great writer.
Ptde can’t be replicated and I don’t feel 2 or 3 hold a candle to it obviously they’re all mechanicaly different but the world and how we traverse it in 1 is what makes it’s better than the rest
2. 1. then 3
Its dark souls 2
Dark Souls 2 is the best Dark Souls!
💯💯💯💯
Counter point: does it matter
darksouls 3 is the best one
My Ranking based purely on personal enjoyment would be Elden Ring, Lies of P = Sekiro, DS3, DS1, DS2, Bloodborne (I havent played Demon Souls). I am not saying BB is the worst or even a bad game at all but it never clicked personally for me and I did not have much fun playing it (Probably also a 30 FPS issue). DS2 has some technical problems as well as level design that can be very unenjoyable and it has very little that would be above its peers. DS1 is a classic and I had my fun with it but its aged quite a bit and many bosses in it today are just very simple. DS3 has some ofthe best bosses in the entire series including Elden Ring. Lies of P and Sekiro just have superb combat with Lies of P maybe even taking the lead because its not "just" parrying but Sekiro just has some really great bosses. Elden Ring of course at the top because it offers so many different options.
Is your IQ 80 or less? Is Lies of P a DARK SOULS game? Is Sekiro? Is Bloodbourne? Is Elden Ring?
@@jarlwhiterun7478 I am well aware I just included the for fun. It should be fairly obvious that they are not no? Most intelligent people would get that it is so obvious that the likelyhood of me not knowing that basic fact would be very low. But thanks for pointing it out anyway Cpt. Obvious.
I haven't played Lies of P yet but it looks pretty cool!
I'd encourage you to give Bloodborne another crack if you ever get the inclination to, it's super worth it! And thanks for your thoughts dude.
Ds1
Great Video 🙏❤
The best dark souls is Ninja Gaiden trilogy, the original one.
Not watching the video it's Dark Souls 1.
I think adaptability was a good addition in DS2. Fight me.
Adaptability is good.
Agility stat is what is stupid.
ADP is all fun and games until you pick the bandit class and literally can't dodge ANYTHING lol.
@@redfish337 and Agility is really only bad because it’s an meaningless number. If the menu showed each thing it did and when those improved it would be obvious how important it is to roll builds.
Idk about good, but it's a non-issue unless someone is completely unfamiliar with the game, which is pretty rare now.
@@been_rly_n2_paragliding_latelyI think being completely unfamiliar is even better, because those people would read the in-game description that tells them that increasing their Agility makes rolling easier.
People that came from DS1 and assumed that they are experts had issues, as they just completely ignored a new stat as they assumed it would be just as useless as Resistance used to be.
I'm going to be honest I think it's too you have so many different ways to become overpowered and broken there's many different weapon combinations to try and on top of that you can literally infuse boss weapons with different types of gems or stones or whatever they're called to make them so broken and overpowered to the point where you can literally obliterate even new game plus all over again with them the armor set actually look like they're supposed to fit you correctly your characters don't look fat and bloated like they need to go to the bathroom every 5 seconds and there's just so much about dark souls 2 that I think is great compared to one and three I think that three is maybe the second best but it's still not as great as to I'm sorry to say it I know that's going to piss a lot of people off but that's my opinion the closest game that does better than dark souls 2 is literally elden ring
The best Dark souls game is A game
I prefer them in the reverse order they came out.
DS1 was very good when it came out, but didn't age well. The only real thing it has is the interconnectivity.
DS2 had a lot of heat things going for it. The story was fantastic if you understood it. It was about the world falling apart and the physical world itself was falling into dementia. It had forgotten the gods, forgotten the name of all the kings save Vendrick. It was in the process of forgetting itself - all because of the first sin of Gwynn linking the first flame. That's also why you have very weird areas right next to each other.
However, DS3 is the GOAT. The combat is much more Bloodborne like. The graphics are obviously smoother and higher definition. And yes the bosses are superb. But there's a few things I wish they kept from DS2 like being able to change the boss arena like Mytha's arena being able to mostly be drained of poison. Or bosses doing special moves of you defeat them hitless like Sir Alonne. Or the fact that there is a bit of new content in NG+.
Seriously, how is DS2 getting so much respect? It's inferior to the first and third in every single department, but this guy's consistently marking it above them. Utter nonsense for anyone who's played all three to mark 2 as superior in any way.
Replay value, gameplay variety, mobs being more than speed bumps.
Definitely doesn't have the most replay value 😂
@@yeahnahmate7 you're wrong, but it's okay to be wrong.
I love all 3 of them equally. It’s like picking your favorite child lol you love them all equally. Although I do favor ds3 even more because of the bosses lol
2>1>3
Only correct opinion
Tbh I want to see an analysis of Bloodborne like this. I'm that starved for Bloodborne content
Haha it'd be difficult to do that with my current setup but when the emulator's more stable I would love to cover Bloodborne, thanks for the love madhattress!
the only things dark souls 2 did even remotly right was the different duel weilding combinations, story, and the graphics but tbh the combat felt shakey at best unlike 1 and 3 which had what dark souls 2 had but also everything else granted dks 1 had its downs like how it feels like it was rushed as it feels like the end game bosses were kinda halfassed like they needed to have better movesets than nito with only like 5 skeletons 2 skele giants and a bunch of mini skeles and the arena for nito was small plus nito shoulved moved quicker than the pace of a grandmother with stage 4 cancer like no toxic mist attacks? he even swings his giant sword super slowly and takes forever to lift it back up. I have so many notes on dark souls 1 but Gravelord Nito was done flipin dirty like in the lore it states his soul is still powerful your telling me that this weakling killed a bunch of ancient stone archdragons with tiny damage slow attack speeds and a tiny group of skeletons pulease.
Its got to be DS3. It was a toss up for me for awhile between 1 and 3, but 3 is just so much more fun to replay personally. I dread so many parts of 1, like Tomb of the Giants, Catacombs, New Londo, Blighttown, and Lost Izalith
That's an interesting take!
The flexibility in how you approach all the different areas in Dark Souls 1 (giving you the opportunity to avoid and focus on certain places) is one of my favourite aspects of the game, and gives it much more replay value imo, but Dark Souls 3 is certainly a much more streamlined game for repeat playthroughs if refining your runs is what you're into.
DS3>DS2>DS1
There are so many intentional contrarians in this section. Reading thru waves of cope.
I'd argue it's ds3 > ds1 > ds2. I wasn't fortunate enough to play pre sotfs ds2.
@@KNGDDDEScholar vastly improved the game, which is why over 90% of people that played both versions prefer the improved Scholar version.
When Vanilla DS2 was released people hated it, as that version was gankier, more frustrating, had more cheap deaths and worse runbacks.
Since Scholar has been released the community turned their opinion on this game around, as it's now actually enjoyable.
@@Domo3000 I find that very hard to believe consider scholar has the same issues.
As far as I'm aware there are ppl lime me who recognize ds2 as a conceptual failure, ppl that enjoy mitazaki games(me), masochists, and ppl that cope because mauler made a good case for the game a while ago.
@@KNGDDDE Make up your own mind after playing DS2 SOTFS.
@@ikigai1799 you have it backwards
DeS lacks the magic of other games, only have 2 memorable bosses which are Flamelurker and old king allant, most bosses are gimmick or can be cheesed such as old hero with thief ring, the game is pretty easy and short compared to the rest, but the world tendency was a very good feature. DS2 is overhated and is definitely a pretty good game and arguably got the best hub but I wouldn't say it's the best. DS1 is a masterpiece and the way firelink was interconnected with everything was just peak game design, it has arguably the best lore, some of the most memorable bosses of all times and an actual working poise. Unfortunately what hold back DS1 from being the best is it's latter half that was rushed, copy paste izalith, cancer tomb of the giant, invisible bridges in the crystal cave and the most disappointing boss in the soul trilogy (bed of chaos). DS3 on the other hand is a little too linear, magic is very weak compared to its predecessors and poise is nonexistent. However, DS3 is without a doubt the most fun game out of them all, it's got the best replayability, smooth and refined gameplay, best builds, best bosses, great areas, best multiplayer and best DLCs. DS3 is simply the best overall.
I agree with most of your points and it's also a very well made video, keep up the good work 👍
I can't believe you didn't slap DS3 with a 1 in terms of balance. It is melee simulator. Nothing else is viable, and making your weapons anything outside of bleed/quality/str/dex is a straight hyper nerf to your dmg. It is insanity how gimped anything outside of melee is to the point that any spell that isn't strictly utility is almost completely worthless even from a "pull that mob" standpoint. FP is just there for your weapon arts and nothing else, and even then those are so hyper unbalanced it's not even funny. People like to pretend stuff is viable and defend it, but you can beat all of these games with your fists if you wanted to, that doesn't mean they're viable. Not to mention how poise is changed and really only works on melee.
Er, sorry for the mini rant out of the blue. lol
Get gud
You know what, in hindsight, I actually agree with this quite a lot, I took the fact that there's a little bit of leeway in how you approach melee builds as a reason to give it a 2, but the argument for a 1 isn't unreasonable either.
When dark souls 3 first came out I was pretty disappointed with the length of the worlds. And felt something left more to desired from it. When the dlcs came out that’s when it felt complete and some like a masterpiece how ever without the dlcs I think ds3 was left with more to be desired. With less being more kind of mindset ds3 was going for. Ds3 is my least played and less favorite of the 3. Not the least favorite but less favorite I don’t have a least favorite souls game.
The best dark souls is actually sekiro
Personal favourite: ds2
Objective better game: ds3
Iconic: ds1
Obviously the best Dark Souls game is Bloodborne 🤷♂️
It's Dark Souls. That's it. Case closed. If you actually believe the sequels are better you're delusional. GGs.
On the contrary, Best Souls 2
I really dont like Dark Souls 3. I liked when the games were slow and simple. It's why I wanted to play Dark Souls in the first place.
Dark Souls 2 for me.
The one you like the most... there i just saved 47 minutes of your life, use them in something meaningful like actually playing a game that you enjoy, instead of tryng to validate your own taste and opinion whit an complete random in youtube. Also Dark soul 1 is the best and everyone knows that lol.
That is a very unnecessary passive aggressive comment with very poor grammar.
Well ah for those who seek out debate, fence sitting and saying everything's a waste of time is literally another waste of our time.
He's just one of those guys that sees a video and goes on to make a silly comment, while not even watching the video.
@@AndrewAung1992He's just sharing his opinion. The remark at the end about DS1 makes me think it's just a lighthearted attempt at comedy. You on the other hand do come off as being passive aggressive, and you're making it about the person instead of about the subject matter.
If being passive aggressive is an issue, then why are you doing it towards him? Do you think it's justified because he says something you disagree with? If so, then how are the two of you any different? Since he is sharing his disagreement, just like you are doing.
Commenting on people's grammar is usually a clear cut sign people have no argument, but still want to show everyone they disagree. Not everyone is a native English speaker, on the internet you're bound to run in to people that are not as proficient in the language. It's not an argument, especially not if you are able to understand the contents of what is being said.
You also assume bad faith by claiming he's not watched the video. It could be true, but you can't possibly know that. So why assert such a thing?
Having said that, I enjoyed the video very much. I went along and looked at how I would score the games in the categories. I enjoy these games very much and I don't think it's a waste of time hearing what other people think about the games I also enjoy very much. It's not about validating my opinion, it's seeing how other people view the games. What they may think is important, perhaps they look at details I never noticed before. Or maybe they prefer other aspects of the game than I do. Some people are interested in that, others find it a waste of time. Not everyone has to like the things I like, specifically how I like them. I think calling these discussions a waste of time is a highly subjective thing. To him it may as well be, I enjoy it so I disagree with the notion. It doesn't stop my enjoyment of these kinds of videos, and it shouldn't stop yours.
@@RawrItsJuul I stopped reading that in the first few sentences.
Dark souls 2 is the best imo.
dark souls 3 is the most polished but dark souls 2 is the best obviously
3.....
now do blood borne and elden ring compared to this..
3 claps
A meaningless conversation that all that results is people fighting over who’s right. Let’s just talk about what we like about these games and move on. Somehow ER is in the comments and the same mouth breathers are pretending it’s worse than satan. Or DS2 mentioned at all causing the same nonsense convos again. Meaningless.
is this dark souls 2 propaganda?
I doubt it considering the outcome.
It's not. DS2 is genuinely a very good game.
Given the number of people who didn't take their meds before commenting, probably
Ds3 is the best to start on imo. Cause if you can beat index gundyr your probably gona stay with it