Underneath my yellow skin

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Double Fan Form: nearing the end, part five

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Despite what the title is of this post, I’m actually going to finish the list that I started yesterday of my weapons, easiest to hardest to learn. If I have time and the brain bandwidth, I’ll get back to the Double Fan Form. If I don’t, though, then I won’t and will get back to it in another post.

For some reason, I thought I was making a list of the weapons, my favorite to least favorite. Nope. That wasn’t what I was doing, so let’s get back to easiest to learn to hardest to learn.

Before I get to the rest of the list, though, let me quickly rattle off the weapons I’m including. You know what? Let’s throw in the Solo Form as well. No. If I do that, then I have to rejigger my list. The Solo (Long) Form was easy for me to learn for the most part. That’s good; I don’t know if I would have stuck it out otherwise.

Why? Because my first experience with Taiji was a disaster. The teacher was terrible for so many reasons, and I was skittish about trying another studio. When I finally mustered up enough energy to research other studios, I had a list of things that I needed from the studio. One, a female teacher. This was nonnegotiable. Two, no shilling of in-studio products like belts and gis and shoes. Three, related to the last one, no belts at all. That’s not really a Taiji thing, anyway, but I was amazed at how many Taiji studios wanted to mimic more traditional karate studios.

I remember at our last studio, there was a group who used the space after us on occasion. I’m not sure what their group was, but they all wore white. I got the sense that it was some kind of New Age hippie thing. I also got the sense that they looked askance at us. See, we wore mostly black, and we were much earthier. I have visible tattoos for one thing. They were very much peace and love. We were more, ah, not hate and strife, but not what they were.

Plus, they would talk in their normal voices while we were trying to finish up our class. That was as annoying as fuck, to be honest.

It took me some time to find my teacher. She had just started her school, and I was her first official student. We gabbed more than we practiced, and we have the tendency to still do the same. I had a lesson with her yesterday and before it, we both said we needed to hold ourselves accountable.

We did it, too. We talked for five or ten minutes, then got down to business. It’s not that we can’t stick to what we’re meant to do; it’s that we’re both too willing to derail each other (and ourselves).


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My criteria for ranking FromSoft games, part two

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I wrote a post yesterday listing some of the criteria I use to rank my favorite FromSoft games. I talked a lot about the map in Elden Ring, which I thought was a brilliant way to handle their first real map in a game. I mentioned in the last post that I should never doubt Miyazaki, and I want to elaborate on that.

The mark of a true genius is how he tackles things in such different ways. As I said in the last post, I was one of the people who was doubtful that they would be able to add a map in at thoughtful and seamless way. I was thinking about how other open world games do it, and I hate it with all my heart. I played about an hour of Horizon Zero Dawn (well after it released), and within five minutes, the map was giving me heart palpitations.

Guerrilla Games is the developer of HZD, and one of their develapers (and developers for Ubisoft) tweeted criticisms about Elden Ring’s UI and map quests (or lack thereof). Interesting, a lot of these tweets and posts about it have been disappeared into a black hole. The guy from Guerilla Games is the one who dissed the quest design for not having the quest flags littering the map. Which, I mean. The UX does have issues. That’s not a strong point of FromSoft. The UI/UX. Oh wait. I’m confusing UI and UX. UI is what FromSoft needs to work on. UX is what it is. It’s not great, but it’s not as terrible as the criticism suggests.

Also, the fact that the dev from Ubisoft sounded really salty and bitter about Elden Ring (which, I’m guessing he might not even have played) without acknowledging and/or realizing that different people want different things from their games. I hate the Ubisoft formula, even though I’ve only started a few of them and nearly finished one. It’s. Fucking. Boring. But I would hastened to add, to me. I know plenty of people like that formula and find it comforting.

Elden Ring, on the other hand, was such a breath of fresh air. No map markers. It was up to you to see what was in the world–or not. This has been a hallmark of every game they’ve made. They have huge optional areas that you can skip entirely if you want. In the first season of Prepare To Try, they did a secrets episode in which Krupa showed Gav and Rory a few things you most likely will not stumble on in your first playthrough–at least not without following a guide.

The one that sticks in my mind is Ash Lake. In order to find Ash Lake, you have to go to the Blighttown swamp and find the great tree in the middle of it. You have to go up the tree branch and hit the wall to make it disappear. There’s a chest, but then again, you have to hit the wall behind it to get to a bonfire (save point). Then, you have to descend down a huge tree with so many traps along the way. And if you don’t have the Lord Vessel, if you die after lighting the bonfire in Ash Lake, you have to climb your way back up.


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How I rank the FromSoft games

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Before I get to 1 and 2 on my favorite FromSoft games list, I want to explain the criteria I used to rank the games. I don’t know if I ever have, and even if I have, I am going to do it again.

First of all, there’s vibes. Yes, vibes. Vibes include atmosphere, environment, level design, and just the overall feel of things. FromSoft is beyond compare when it comes to atmosphere and level design. You can’t help but gasp in awe and amazement. When they are at their best, the level design is true art.

I remember a time in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC where I  had been exploring for what seemed like ages. The DLC is brutal, and I had to dump 20+ points into Vigor at the beginning of the DLC in order to stand a chance (and not get one-hit). It’s recommended in the base game and beyond to have 60 Vigor points. I played the first 100 hours with 18 Vigor. I only added pointts in Vigor when I got the Mimic Tear beacuse it takes health and not FP. You need 660 HP in order to summon the Mimic. 18 Vigor is 598. 21 is 680, which, obviously, leaves you with very little HP if you use Mini-Me.

The thing is, though, once you use Mini-Me, you’re not going to stop. For the most part. It’s by far the best spirit summon out of the thirty or so that are available. Every playthrough, I think I’m going to try a different spirit ash, and every time, I d othe same thing. Lone wolves and jellyfish are my two main ones. Until I get Mini-Me. Then it’s me and Mini-Me until the end. Except in my intelligent playthrough. Mini-Me not quite as good for whatever reason. I still used Mini-Me quite a bit, but I also used Tiche, which is the second-best spirit ash (and the hardest to get). Oh, and Tay-Tay frem the DLC (that’s a nickname so I won’t spoil it). That spirit ash is a tank and can take out some bosses by itself.

I can get lost in the weeds with all the games. I can talk forever about them, but I’ll try to rein myself in.

Another thing I judge on is innovation. But, I will be honest. It’s not the biggest part of my ranking. I mean, I value it. I’m blown away by the innovations big and small that From has made. The perfect example is the map in Elden Ring. See, FromSoft does not do maps. At all. There’s a joke one in Sekiro*, but no one even knows it’s there. Their belief is that you should traverse the areas enough to memorize them rather than rely on a map.

And, for the most part, FromSoft fans adapted to them (as usual). We accepted that we would have to die a million times to learn the differerent areas. And, boy, did we. We parroted what they said and kept falling down over and over until we knew every nook and cranny of those games. Map? We didn’t need no stinking map!


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Continuing my ultimate FromSoft list

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In yesterday’s post, I started my list of FromSoft games in honor of the fact that Nightreign is dropping in a month. They just released a trailer about the Recluse, who is considered an advanced character (who does magicks). I am going to buy it and play it, of course, but I have a  hunch it won’t be for me. I’ve watched gameplay about it, and the biggest thing I’ve noticed is the constant speediness of the game. You’re not given any time to think, which is not how I play these games. Added to that the fact that it’s multi, and it’s os not my thing. At all.

I have always maintained, though, that these games aren’t made for me. I love them, but they don’t love me back. Oh, also, I did a list like this in July of 2023, which is a year-and-five-months after Elden Ring came out. In that list, I put–well, let me say that I played Dark Souls II (Scholar of the First Sin) in entirety a few months ago. Not for any specific reson–just because. In my last ranking, I had Dark Souls II (Scholar of the First Sin) in my 4th spot. I mentioned that I played it more than I had the first game, but that the first game got the nod because it had a superior first half.

I said that the game sufferedin comparison after playing Elden Ring. Do I feel the same now? Let’s see what I put fourth.

4. Dark Souls

Gasp! Shock! Quelle Horreur! Did I really put Dark Souls below Dark Souls II? Yes, yes I did. Look. Here’s the t hing. Sekiro and Bloodborne are permanently placed at six and five, respectively. That will not change. I mean, maybe if Bloodborne comes to the PC, I may play it again and love it more. With my Xbox Elite 2 controller. I hate the DualShock. So much.

Dark Souls And Scholar of the First Sin (Dark Souls II) are roughly even in my estimation. I like them about the same, but for vastly different reasons. I usually put the second game in this slot, but I have to be honest. I do it out of a sense of tribute to the first game. But, to be even more honest with you, I have played the second game probably twice as much as the first–at least the full game. I have platted all three Souls games, so you can tell that I’ve played all three plenty.

I have played and finished the second game probably two dozen times. I have started the first game that many times, but I have seen it all the way through maybe half that. Why? Because the second half of the game is not great.

All the accolades to the first half of the game. My issues with it are mine alone or a feature and not a bug (like no fast travel, the esoteric nature of the game, how gruelling it is), but the first half is a sublime experience. Once you get a handle on everything, I mean. And to end it with the Ornstein and Smough fight? It’s still such a highlight boss fight, even if it’s no longer the back/mind-breaker it used to be.

Now that I am looking back and past how the game absolutely broke me the first time I played it, I can marvels at what a masterpiece it is. In the first half.

It’s hard to overstate what a drop the second half was. I think the New Londo area is incredible for atmosphere and ambience (creepy AF), but the boss run is…not great. There is no bonfire in the area, which makes it very arduous. And the boss is just a DPS fight. I actually like this boss, though. The Four Kings. It has a neat mechanic to it, and I’ve never had much difficulty with it (in NG).

Because of the shitty second alf (and, yes, it’s pretty shitty), I’m moving it down one spot, but really, 4 and 3 are virtually interchangeable.

3. Scholar of the First Sin (Dark Souls II)

I did it. Finally. I swapped 3 and 4. I have been feeling it for quite some time, but my loyalty to the first game forbade me from putting it fourth. However, I recently played the second game, and it really holds up. Maybe I was just in the mood, but I really got into it. Yes, starting with only two estus flasks is brutal. Yes, swigging from the estus flask is painfully slow. Yes, the level design is not quite as elegant or intricate as the first game. And, yes, the enemy hordes are brutal and borderline unfair.

However. this game is a lot of fun. I like the nugs (what Rory from RKG calls the lifegems) which many people did not like because it really changes the balance between the bonfires. Some people felt like FromSoft ramped up the difficulty between bonfires because they were betting you would use lifegems along the way. Which I did. Yes, it lessened the need for estus flasks, but considering that they start you with one (you can get one more right away), that’s a good thing. And, yes, there was a point where I had 99 on me all the time (I always replenished my supply when I was back in Majula), but I felt I earned that shit.

One thing people did not like is that you started with a slow roll. You had to put points into ADP in order to get the basic Dark Souls roll. I will admit that was frustrating as fuck, and it was not a good choice on the part of the developing team.

This is one of my biggest  issues with the second game. I thought that the team didn’t quite understand what made th efirst game so good. They went for difficulty by adding enemy hordes and unfair enemy placement. And the weird weapon durability bug that still isn’t fixed. And the level design is not nearly as good. However, they tried new and innovative things like lifegems, adding different enemies to bosses in NG+, different ways to kill bosses (still not sure that’s intentional), and one thing I appreciated, having NPC summons for nearly every boss.

Other innovations were messing with the lighting (and having the one area where if you light all the sconces, you get an invader NPC and the best armor of the game), going into memories to get certain items to fight a certain boss, and many different lock systems.

I have more to say, but I’m calling it quits here. More tomorrow.