Demon's Souls, amiright?
DAY 2: This is going to fast
I left this out of the first post because things were getting a little lengthy, but after three hours playing (still sick on the couch), I found that I remembered a whole lot more about this game than I thought. The roll move in DS as well as early game magic spells have gotten a rep in the community for being fairly overpowered, something later games have since addressed. But once I fit back into that old suit and began running through levels, this knowledge came right back to me like I was getting my ass to Mars. Enemies --nearly all humanoid-- in 1-1, can't handle the starting Soul Arrow spell that the royalty class comes packed with, so even though I slid right back into the old habits of melee attacking most things, when life was low and mobs got hairy, one-shotting enemies with low level sorcery almost made me feel guilty about how I was steamrolling this early level. Almost.
The royalty comes equipped with some weak armor to counterbalance the unfair offensive output, which means that I'll drop dead if a larger monster so much as gives me a funny look. But 1-1, the first level of the Boletarian Palace and the actual tutorial of the game, was easily overwhelmed with these weaksauce duds and the rush of old memories regarding the level layout. Enemies came and went, Red Eyed knights left alone and a noble NPC saved, and the first boss was stomped on with a handful of firebombs and some turpentine. Everything felt good and right.
Now was the time for follow through. Demon's Souls is a game that greatly benefits from a carefully formulated plan, and its discretely separated levels and the rewards/ hazards therein can be tackled in more advantages manners depending on what kind of character you want to build. Want to swing heavy weapons? Next stop: Stonefang Tunnel and their copious forging items. Feeling devout and miraculous? Better head over to the Shrine of Storms to bust out Saint Urbain and learn some higher-level prayers. Scheming that magic was my weapon of choice, I knew that I had to go through the Tower of Latria, affectionately known as 3-1, but the learned player needs not be so dogmatic; there are strong weapons strewn about a many environments that can give a big boost in the early game, it just takes a little forethought and a lot of guts to go get them. For me, then, running into the first section of the Shrine of Storms (4-1) was worth the trouble to grab a sword that scaled with my magic stats vs. the normal stuff that bumps in effectiveness via Strength or Dexterity. I felt that it was worthwhile to just tough it out and finish the level now that I was swinging a melee weapon that doubled my damage output, and then there I was. Two down.
The Tower of Latria was a pushover, then, irrespective how lost I get every time I play it. But the point wasn't to finish the level, it was to meet Sage Freke, a high-level magic instructor. But getting him out of the the level and back to my Nexus hub world meant that you've run the entirety of the level anyway, so killing the boss became an easy bit of side work. Three levels done. This is going easier than I thought.
Car doors closed. I could hear them through the thick brick walls of my house as the sound traveled past old windows that still need to be replaced, the thud of my wife's wide swing slamming the back passenger side shut with a toddler in her arm. I come to, the fugue of replaying this game snapping. Had I seen too much too soon? Am I going to destroy this game? Do I need to start thinking of another character (and maybe one named after a more poignant album title?)? I'll need to stop today, and this was as good a place as ever to do it. I probably wouldn't need to be so concerned, though.
We'll talk about that tomorrow.
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