Kingship and Individualism | Elden Ring and Dark Souls 2 Lore Connections
Vložit
- čas přidán 20. 04. 2024
- What does it mean to be a king in Drangleic and the Lands Between? This video discusses the unique take both games have on leadership and the strength of the individual. The endings and the themes of free will of Dark Souls 2 and Elden Ring serve as the primary focus. Thanks for watching!
Reference video that served as the main inspiration for this video: • Dark Souls 2: Subjecti...
#eldenring #darksouls #darksouls2 #eldenringclips #eldenringgameplay #eldenringlore #fromsoftware #shadowoftheerdtree - Hry
Gideon: "A man cannot kill a god..."
*The tarnished, who five minutes ago got the achievement 'god slaying armament'
"Are you sure about that?"
Gideon represents every nihilist proclaiming they know all when they know as much as the nothing they rush too. Look at the item descriptions lol. He's close minded. Not once did this dude look at the Banners of Sol and Sellen's Crown yet he'll note the Celadon Green of the Godskin Stitcher! He's blind and bias 🤣. Seriously go look back on all those funny masks like Marais and Hoslow. They're all Miquella's babies or told by his Formless Mother persona to shed bled for the Haligtree (which they still believe to this day despite their disappearence)
"A true monarch carries the weight of their souls" - Nashandra, Queen of Drangleic
ER being co-directed with the lead director of DS2 means you can actually see a lot more DS2 DNA in it than you can in other games like DS3 and Sekiro. It’s nice to see the good ideas DS2 had done proper justice
Yes I absolutely agree! A recent-ish interview with Miyazaki suggested that he’s open to the idea of new directors making souls games or of that ilk so that there are fresh ideas. In that same interview he even said something to the effect that ds2 had many strong concepts thematically and mechanically. Thanks for watching and I’m glad you liked it!
except he also codirected ds3 and everyone ignores that part
what are you talkin about ?? the lead director of DS2 and codirector of ER is also codirector of DS3
@@ace-smith ok ok, I admit to not knowing that. It honestly surprised me a little to learn.
That being said, in Elden ring there was only 2 co-directors instead of three, and it being a new IP I strongly suspect Tanimura had much more influence on the end product than he did in DS3.
One can’t deny that elements of DS2 design philosophy were much more present in ER compared to DS3, which did its hardest to pretend that DS2 never happened. At least before some weirdly specific references in the DLC.
@@MilesRavis see above
Elden Ring is Best Souls 2 2
Agreed!
Dark Souls 2 for its flaws doesn’t get enough credit for the story it tells.
You matter, you go to Drangliec for your own reasons, no one demands you to arrive nor is there a Prophecy.
Even Elden Ring you arrive due to Marika’s design, even if the journey you go on is your choice.
DS2 starts off with the acknowledgment that you are the one making choices, you design yourself after arriving because it is “You” not just any undead or a reanimated corpse, but an actual person.
Great video! I love everything about it
Well said! I always appreciated the increased sense of self ds2 gave to the player. In many ways ds2 tried to set itself from the legacy of ds2, something that is under appreciated. Ds3 on the other hand isn’t that original at least in my view. Of course I love all the games for different reasons.
Thanks for checking out the video and I appreciate your input! More content is coming soon! I’ll likely have something out in the next week or so. Stay tuned!
as much as i unfortunately hated playing ds2 (i wanted to like it!), it easily has the best story in the souls series
You are drawn to Drangleic thanks to Nashandra. She opens a gateway from the old ruins in the intro cinematic to allow you entry (this is at least implied). She needs an undead to acquire all the keys to access the throne of want since Vendrick put many obstacles in her way.
Dark Souls's Quella and Elden Ring's Miquella/St'Trina
Probably the first video I've seen really linking the themes of ds2 and elden ring, this rules
Thanks so much! I plan on continuing this series showing the similar characters and themes for as long as I can. Stay tuned!
3k hours of my life on darksouls 2, As much as i love asmon if he cant see the art in ds2 then its his loss.
It definitely has its flaws, I think all games have some here and there. Ds2 nails the art direction, mood and dialogue very well in my opinion. Thanks for checking out the video. I am giving ds2 some more love with my next upload coming soon!
@@xLevelT Archstones mod for ds3 gave me a glimpse of what could of been and now i just want a full remaster like demon souls by bluepoint but for ds2 haha
@@thomasbriscoe2357 I’m on Xbox so I won’t likely be able to play it but seeing the footage of Heide’s tower revamped got me curious of what could be.
Thank you for this video, i love how the journy of radagon becoming a consurt and tarnished can be mimic through the age of the star how his golden order became fundamentalist and ours are a radical approach
Something that I just noticed if the map shown at 13:01 is an official map of Drangleic, put a massive crater below Drangleic Castle and it reflects the Map of the Lands between with many landmarks in the same or similar locations. The only major one that I can see missing is anything where Raya Lucaria would be.
11:31 bro on the left side of the screen blinked during the photo
No idea how you don’t have more subscribers but you have one more now!
This was a fantastic nuanced view at the burdens of leadership/power
Thanks for checking out the video! I appreciate the kind words and welcome to the channel!
Amazing video! that was an interesting subject to listen too that i didnt think of in my first playthroughs of the games. Very nice edits also the quality you put out in this video is on par with the big analysis channels. Keep it up man!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate you checking it out! I’m glad that it offered some new insights since that is the whole goal of these videos. Cheers!
"Influence of Choice" Laughs in Miquella
I was hoping someone would make a video like this since the games actually share a decent bit of art direction as well
Thanks so much! More content in this form on the way. I also have a series on ds2 and Elden ring similarities, so feel free to check that out if you’d like. Again, thank you for checking out the video!
Very nice video. Both games are in fact a more personal story, instead of you being just another part of a greater plan.
Yes exactly! That’s a great way of putting it. As much grief as ds2 gets, it does shine in that area. Thanks for taking the time to check out the video!
Heck yeah! fantastic to see my two favorite souls games coming together. i did notice the surprising ammount of thematic similarities
Great to hear! Expect more ds2 and Elden ring connections videos soon!
How special! It’s rare to find an excellent creator this early! If you keep it up, you’ll be a staple of the Soulsborne community. Great analysis
Thanks so much! That means a lot as I’m just getting things started in all of this. More content coming soon!
Great video my man, keep up the good work
Thank you! This video series has plenty more topics to get into, so stay tuned!
this was good video man, well done
Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate the kind words!
Great video man 👍🏽
I think if you take the Throne in Dark Souls II, you don´t get to be free as soon as those doors close
Maybe that was what Vendrick feared as well
I imagine it does take some sacrifice to sit on the Throne of Want and link the Fire from within
It is implied that Nadalia that Bride of Ash at the Brume Tower tried to link the Flame as well but it was imperfect, perhaps due to the absence of the Throne
perhaps the Throne is a Conduit of complete the ritual in some way
Very cool video. Love your diction!
Thank you! The diction is the hardest part because I can get tongue tied very easily. I appreciate you checking out the video; more on the way!
DS3 is the odd game for me, in terms of endings. The first two endings "Link the First Flame" and "The End of Fire" seem like rather standard fair, in all honesty. Then comes the third ending, "The Usurpation of Fire". This ending is essentially the choice to stride out of the established order, and create something new... though, this ending is muddied by Yuria, and the Sable Church of Londor. It also bears a sort of responsibility to it. You've now become the new heir to the First Flame, the master of the world. What does somebody do with this kind of god-like power? What sort of world would you bring about?
The final ending... the final ending is so out of place that, by all rights, it should not exist... but it's the only ending that the player themselves decides upon. No outside influence, no Kaath or Yuria whispering in your ear. Just you. No matter what ending you take, be it to Link the Fire, to bring it to an end, or to usurp it... You are still a nameless, accursed undead. Nobody cares about you. But here? You have your chance, your chance to bring an eternal change to the world, as _you_ see fit. Nobody else.
My interpretation are twofold. The first possible interpretation is that, by using the power of the Darksign, you are essentially bringing about the Rebirth of Fire. You wish to start again, in a new world, in a new journey. This actually fits in a meta-sense, with the player's desire for the story of Dark Souls to continue onwards. The second interpretation is simple, you consume the First Flame. It is yours now. Only you command your fate... Not a Primordial Serpent, not a God who wishes to see his age continue, and not a group of Hollows who wish to see the world forever changed.
You are the arbiter now. Even the narrator attempts to curse you one last time, _"Nameless, accursed undead, unfit even to be cinder. And so it is. That ash seeketh embers."_ But does that really matter now? Go forth, oh so-called nameless undead. Go forth and do as you wish. The world is yours.
Great Video, I am glad that I stumpled upon your Channel
Thanks for stopping by!
Banger video man
Thank you and I appreciate you checking it out! More content on the way!
@@xLevelT looking forward to it man
hey Level, new guy here, fantastic video, great editing and use of concept arts!
So, i got a question to ask you, i'm making for elden ring my main character, a faithful to the death birds who (at the time death was burned in ghostflame) was performing rituals to become a death rite bird, only thing he got interrupted and didnt succeed, now as the death bite birds returned and he along with them, he still has his the same goal in mind, except the golden order prevented death to be a thing and disrupted (in my headcanon) the possibility of successful death rites, so of course he will still try to get an ending that enables him or makes him closer to become a death bird himself, in your opinion which ending would be the most fitting to reach his goal?
I’d say duskborn or fracture. Good luck with your playthrough!
Honestly is it too far fetched to imagine DS2 conceptually was another King's Field title before cashing on DS1? Throughout Elden Ring, DS2, and KF itself just feel similar. Man if only DS2 was King's Field 5 lmao. Or these guys just love Golden Flower symbology. Maybe just maybe these games are Miyazaki's wink.
Nobody these days are old enough to remember Kingsfield one of the greatest games in American history.
i always Said DS2 its Kings Field 5,it Has the Core Healing of Kings Field Herb,Crystal Flask and White Magic, then Hidden Door, Area like Puzzle
@@aSkylandSoraI grew up with the PS2! It wasn't until KF4 I got wind of the franchise and it was the perfect time. It was just before Demon's Souls (OG) that I got to try Eternal Ring, Shadow Tower 1, and KF4. I genuinely wish people knew about them more. I'll still boot them up for the slow pace dungeon crawling!
Truly
Elden Ring is a subtle reiteration of DS2.
The more I have read on it, it seems to be in many ways the original vision for ds2 with open world like qualities and themes, etc. Thanks for checking it out!
It really is Dark souls 2, 2, 2
But 2 + 2 is also 4 making Elden Ring Dark souls 4? 😂
Ah yes become a lord much like Godfrey and then to be tossed out like a piece of lint who gives us grace in the first place? Is it this erdtree acting as an influencing point for these outer gods or was it the current god acting through it? Marika maybe? Whatever it is your choice is following these outer gods these repugnant betrayers of the
ONE GREAT OH BURN IT ALL AWAY THE PAIN THE DEATH THE MADNESS
Is it not the only way? to escape the clutches of these gluttons using us and the world as their own chess game?
It's Marika. That's the whole "fly in the ointment" Goldmask pointed out. Mankind can't be God due to the fickleness of our nature. She knew right from wrong at the beginning of signing up to house the Elden Ring 🤷.
Bloodborne will always be the greatest😻
Haven’t played it yet, (I’m on Xbox) but I’m sure it’s great. Thanks for watching!
Bloodborne was the ultimate expression of how selfish intentions will lead to the most grotesque of outcomes.
@@xLevelT its such a crime it hasnt been ported to anything else, while not my favorite souls I think it probably has the tightest design on world and gameplay
Great video and good ideas and comparisons. While Elden ring isn’t my favorite souls game I still love it. In fact the specific way you worded how free Elden ring is also is why I love Sekiro more. Elden ring is TOO free call me Stalin but I hate free open worlds I want my games in cramped claustrophobic dungeons with only 5 paths forward some players may get stuck but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make I’m hoping the dlc will make me like the game more. And I still don’t know why I’m not more in love with elden ring the gameplay is great the world is beautiful but idk the lore feels so broken like someone actually did shatter the world and I’m expected to found a new order from nothing it just didn’t connect to me like the tight linear path of sekiro
From what I’ve gathered the dlc will have more condensed level design based on interviews. So the landmass might feel more condensed. Elden Ring’s story took a while for me to find interest in. It’s pretty big and I honestly don’t know all that much off the top of my head and have to really dig into wikis and other explanation videos. I think I appreciated Elden Ring more when I noticed the similarities to DS2. I am not a big fan of some of the bosses in Elden Ring but I would say it’s one of my favorites in terms of gameplay. DS1 will always be king in my book because it had the best balance of gameplay and story/world in my view. Thanks for checking out the video and I hope the dlc is more akin to what you are looking for as the game could use a bit of a more claustrophobic feel at times.
@@xLevelT oh and thinking of one of my favorite thing in elden ring is the forgotten hero graves at the end that want to play with your tiny mind as you feel like a rat in a labyrinth
Before watching, I have to say: Vendrick, Aldia, Shanalotte, the Shards of Manus... they all deeply discussed or hinted at what makes true kingship. Great dialogue about strength and the individual's dream & desire, and the overall burden of thrones and greatness. Elden Ring has... what? I can't recall anything, it felt more generic and not invested in its own themes to me. No iconic lines like "Seeker of fire, seek strength; the rest will follow".
I'm not convinced that ER told the story & used the themes that DS2 did so well. Hopefully your video will convince me, because I like ER but so far I can't love it like I do Souls. It feels empty.
It definitely has more of a high fantasy vibe which is very different from dark souls more (pun intended) dark fantasy themes. However I think Elden Ring does build and present some new ideas about rulership and individualism pretty well. The lore for ER took a long time for me to find interest in. I still think there a lot of ideas that really get lost or don’t go anywhere, but that’s also not entirely new to the series either.
The characters lines that I really like are: Gideon, Godfrey, Morgott, Maliketh, Millicent, and Melina.
The themes are not a one to one but definitely play on one another in similar ways. What the video does is notice similar motifs rather than stating this is an exact replication. Hope you enjoy the video and the very least offers some new takes. All I hope for this content is to add to the ongoing discussion. Thanks for stopping by!
I watched it all. I agree that ER wants to approach freedom & agency in a way similar to DS2, but as you said near the end, "I wish it had more interaction, dialogue, and narration/item descriptions" clarifying lordship, kingship, being a consort, duty, etc., and I don't think the endings carry that burden at all.
In ER all we know about the consort/lord of each age is that they fight. Godfrey lost his grace once he'd won all his wars. Radagon appears out of nowhere, fights Liurnia, is reconciled, then leaves and presumably does things until the Shattering, but we know nothing about their lordship really. In DS2 we don't need people telling us the facts of what makes a good king, as you say, because the very point is that a true monarch does what they will for the world: for light, for dark, or for something else entirely. There's really no such concept in ER, because we're always helping someone else's vision come to be.
You speak a lot about agency, but ER seems to me to emphasise the opposite, and we have the least agency of all the games, imo. Throughout the story, we are often 'deceived' by people like Volcano Manor, who speak of heroic paths but really just want to feed you to their serpent-god, concealed by Tanith until she teleports you to him. There's a lot of doing other peoples' research for them, then benefitting from a tedious exposition dump, like with Rogier. Each ending fulfils some outer god's wishes, and we're just a pawn of their fates: four different forms of continuing the Greater Will's/Golden Order's tyranny (more or less), or bringing Ranni/the Dark Moon into godhood so you can follow along for 1,000 years doing goodness knows what... or losing your individuality to the Frenzied Flame/Shabriri's chaos.
I can see where Miyazaki was trying to go, but without deep concepts like light & dark, and well-written characters that ask what the individual wants, ER only flounders in a mire of fantasy tropes. When I sat on the throne, I had no idea what I was even supposed to care about anymore. At least Shanalotte told me the dead could die finally and souls would flourish anew. ER gives nothing but further questions with no satisfying potential to hope for. Everyone's dead anyway.
For me the great concepts of ER have nothing to do with agency or lordship, but heroism and being remembered, such as the moving idea behind the Ghost Gloveworts. And that's beyond the scope of this video.
@@xLevelT I appreciate your response. Yes, nothing is perfect and there are concepts not fully fleshed-out in all the games. That's fine. And your video does a great job of hinting at how ER & DS2 do approach the world differently from DS1&3.
Maliketh is also probably my favourite character! I really like Morgott's arc too, and Millicent's story carries a lot of thematic weight. I'll respond to that when I watch your Lucatiel/Millicent video.
Hope you enjoy!
My hope is that the dlc continues to build on these concepts or add more depth to some of the endings, but we’ll have to wait and see. At the end of the day the emphasis on being a lord in both games is what excited me and even if you didn’t agree with the ideas I had I appreciate you sharing your perspective. I am still learning all of this stuff myself and trying to build as I go. Thanks for subbing and I hope enjoy some of the content I have. Thanks again! 🙏🏻