u/Aiseadai

I thought I would make bank selling dyed capes. I'd kill highwaymen for the capes, then gather the ingredients for Aggie and dye all the capes I had. I'd then sell them in Varrock (this was before the GE) to rich players who all surely wanted my amazing coloured capes.

Needless to say I did not make bank.

Unless you're playing tall and you know you want expand much anyway, is there any reason to not change this? A big part of early game is rushing chokepoints to stop the AI from taking systems near you.

From Buster Keaton to Inspector Closeau and Mr. Bean, it appears that physical comedy is exclusively helmed by men. Are there any examples of women starring In a movie with a lot of physical comedy?

Over the past year or so I've played through every single From Software first person dungeon crawler, and what a journey it's been. Having been a Souls player since Demon's Souls back in 2010 it's been interesting seeing where many of its elements originally came from. Anyway, here's my ranking of the games with some short thoughts. (for some reason reddit reverses the rating, it goes from least favourite to most)

7. Shadow Tower - This was an extremely frustrating game to play to me. The durability system was not fun, the enviroments were bland, the gameplay felt even clunkier than King's Field, and the lack of a soundtrack really brought down the atmosphere. Despite being the last PS1 game it felt like a step back from even the first KF. It's supposed to be a creepier horror-esque game, but that aspect fell completely flat. Maybe with a good soundtrack it could have worked, but the silence did nothing to enhance the atmosphere. The only one of these games I didn't like.

8. King's Field 1 - I don't really have much to say about this one. It very much feels like a tech demo for the later games, which with it being (one of) the first 3D RPGs is understandable. Definitely worth a playthrough if you're interested in From's history.

9. Eternal Ring - This game has some major problems, but I have a very soft spot for it. It was the first one of these I played and thus somewhat special to me. Yeah, a lot of it sucks. The bland level design, the lack of any meaningful loot, the further stipping away of RPG elements. Despite all that though there's something about this game which intrigues me that I can't explain. It has a certain aetherial atmosphere to it that I really enjoy, helped by what I think is a very enjoyable soundtrack.

10. King's Field 2 - Bigger and better than its predecessor in every way. Its level design and mechanics are very impressive for its time. The interconnected world, the fast travel system, the crystal flasks. A lot to appreciate about this one. If only it wasn't so confusing to navigate.

11. King's Field 4 - A lot of people consider this the peak of the franchise and I can totally see why, it is a very enjoyable and impressive game. You're always finding cool new loot around every corner and the interconnected world with its minor metroidvania elements is very fun to explore. Every time my secret senses were tingling I was vindicated by a hidden door. What did hold it back slightly for me was that it got fairly repetitive later on. 90% of the levels are either stone halls or cave, I can't say that by the end I was excited to explore more of that.

12. Shadow Tower Abyss - This has to be the biggest surprise out of all of these. With how much I dislike the original this turned out to be the most fun out of all these games. It starts out fairly similar to the other games but by the time you get some guns and enough ammo it becomes a (albeit clunky )joy to play. A big, scary intimidating boss shows up? Just grab your shotgun and shoot the fuck out of them! The alien enviroments are fun to explore, even if they're not as well designed as in KF4. You find so much loot that the durability system kind of becomes irrelevant, so that didn't bother me nearly as much as in the original ST.

13. King's Field 3 - I don't know if this is a popular choice here for most favourite, but I really loved KF3. It might not be as well designed as KF4 but what pushing it to the top for me is its atmosphere. The game feels like a big adventure, instead of being restricted to caves and crypts you're traversing wide open fields (as much as the PS1 can have those) and visiting villages. The whole game feels heavy, even more than the other games. Everyone is at their darkest hour. Despite it being less lonely with all the towns you visit that doesn't do much to make it feel less melancholic. Every area has some enviromental puzzle to spice things. All in all this feels like the most "complete" game out of the bunch.

All in all it's been a lot of fun to dive into this part of a now famous developers history. I feel empty now, what am I going to do with my life? Maybe play a bunch of King's Field inspired games. I've already played Lunacid and Verho which seem to be the two big ones, any other recommendations?

The way you creep around every corner not knowing what you'll find. Maybe a knew enemy whose pattern you have to learn? Maybe a new cool sword that's better than the one you have? There might even be traps or an enviromental puzzle you have to solve. Searching every nook and cranny for hidden walls and items that'll make your journey easier. Unlike the Souls games of today there's no wiki out there that has all the information you could possibly need. The lonely feeling of the endless stone walls of this abandoned city while that melancholic soundtrack is playing. All of this really brings me back to 2010 (The EU release date) when I had a PS3 and I started playing this obscure game called Demon's Souls.

The opening is tough and really put me off for a bit, but once you're a few hours in and have gotten used to the controls and found a weapon that actually does some decent damage I really got into it. If you're like me and have played every Souls game to death and want something similar, give it a shot! Like I said the opening is rough but stick with it and you'll find something worth experiencing! I'm playing it on a PS2 emulator and if you crank up the resolution it actually looks pretty decent.

I don't actually want it because obviously that goes against the whole point of the games, but I do fantasize about it. Imagine playing a game where we get to walk around Undead Parish while it still a bustling city. When I walk around the world of these games in all their melancholic glory I can't help but feel lonely and imagine what it would be like.