Source: Diehard GameFan 2 (December 1992)
Scan source: Sketch the Cow/Jason Scott (Internet Archive)
I'm only a bit into Custom Robo. So far it's sorta what my fuzzy memories playing it in Great Wolf Lodge a long time ago, a super fun game with some fast paced action and a nice layer of customization! I stopped after the tutorial section, can't wait to continue to crack into this one. Between it and Sly 2, I'm gonna have a blast with both.
83 bosses later, and I'm at the end of the Dark Souls trilogy. It feels great. And the Ringed City, even greater! An exciting barrage of phenomenal set pieces and one of the coolest dragon fights and an epic final boss that sends off this trilogy phenomenally well. I really can't think of much I hated about the Ringed City save for the Judicators and the Ringed Knights being a source of frustration, and the ending piece being a lil anticlimactic despite the great setup. Buckle up, cuz this is my longest writeup yet!
Ringed City is the main course after the appetizer of Ashes of Ariandel. And where do I begin? As soon as you make your way through the Dreg Heap, these monstrous crawling creatures are already trying to bite at your ankles for heavy damage, two are casting spells at you. But what's that? An item on a corpse? Seems suspicious. And it is, as you're sent falling into a church, and you don't take fall damage! They use this a few times before you make your way through, making sure to comb the land for that sweet +3 Ring of Steel Protection and the +3 Covetus Silver Serpent Ring, cuz you're gonna need em up ahead. With this angelic enemy blasting down at ya, and the host not being too far away, you'd best take it out before you make another plunge.
Going deeper past the Heap you end up in... Earthen Peak? That's right, a Dark Souls 2 area has appeared, and it. Is. Splendid! The DLC's inevitable swamp area happens to be particularly fun, given you're equipped to deal with Toxic. But it's a pretty safe run over to the next segment. Past that toxic bog is a hole that takes you down to the first boss, an extremely easy duo boss - Demon in Pain and Demon from Below. But they then transform into The Demon Prince! Who I finished with 3 estus to spare!
In between those areas, you can run into an NPC, an amnesiac by the name of Lapp. There's something off about the guy, the way he makes you delve through dangerous areas on his second and third appearances, but he seems nice enough.
After being whisked away by your gargoyle pals to the titular city, things start off crazy. A Judicator brings the pain immediately, summoning countless archers and requiring you to go around and climb a ladder to beat him down. If only they didn't respawn. Plowing your way through the area, that bonfire is a sign of relief, until you realize there's hollows that can curse ya! And you bump into more Ringed Knights, and those Harald Legion Knights that live in the DLC's other, non-poisonous swamp.
It's within the non-poisoned swamp, after chatting it up with a lady behind a door that tells me to put down a dragon that I run into another bonfire! The swamp has another dreaded Judicator, a few Ringed Knights on a tower, some clerics that are a pain in the arse sometimes with their circles that target you. There's even a Iron Dragonslayer, Diet Diet Diet Ornstein, to fight! After I spent some time walking around, I got to help Lapp out with finding this purging monument so he'll remember who he is! Or so I think.
Doing this puzzle was a bit frustrating, as you find a shortcut to open the door near that bonfire. Something behind that door is a puzzle asking you to show your humanity. You've to go into the swamp, hope you either have Chameleon or White Branches, and cross your fingers you transform into a humanity sprite. Then sloooooooowly move back to that shortcut. If you don't piss off the local walking locust creatures, you've done good! A ladder comes down, you deal with two Ringed Knights (one with a spear) and a Judicator, then make your way to a ladder to find the Purging Monument.
Moving towards the next area, a dragon swoops through and starts setting things ablaze! Heading into a cave, you think you're safe. You've exhausted Lapp's dialogue, you've picked up plenty of rings and other trinkets along the way, heading to the right within this tower you'll realize Lapp ain't exactly who he seems... what's that? Patches squat? And he wants me to go outside to check out some treasure down below? OH, PATCHES, YOU SON OF A-
How's that guy get around? Creighton showed up in DS3 as an invader, but Patches somehow has lived since the very beginning. Think I recall a buddy telling me he was even in Armored Core well before Demon's Souls. Getting trolled by Patches outta the way, I moved onto the next area where I'd a very important date with the dragon. Midir, Shira said his name was! After a brief exchange of steel to its tanky face and claws, Midir retreats and I run off into a between space that hosts an elevator to the first Ringed City bonfire, but more importantly, a place to go finish the job with Midir.
Midir's bar none the best of the dragons in any Souls game. Kalameet was exceptionally tanky and rough, Sinh was a pain in the ass, Midir is a pain but surprisingly fun to learn and master. The tankiness of Kalameet, the speed of Sinh thrown into a blender to make a surprisingly great dragon boss battle! He took the most attempts out of any boss in this DLC, but I could feel the progress with each attack, leading to that cathartic riposte and last few swings that sent Midir to his grave. And I get a Titanite Slab for my efforts!
Defeating Midir filled me with such excitement, I went to that church in the distance, picking up these wicked Ringed Knight dual greatswords after duking it out with their wielder. Despite a Judicator telling me not to go in, I open the doors and summon... Patches? Fuck it we ballin. Patches and I go through a fog wall and face Halflight, the Spear of the Church. She wasn't a superbly difficult battle, though she took a bit long due to the summoning buddy shtick. After getting some help from Patches, I move forward and wake the sleeping princess up at the top of the tower... only to be taken to a deserted land where I fought Gael.
Gael's great. He only took me two tries, but learning the fight was only half the fun. His moveset is insanely varied, he even pulls out a damned Avelyn and uses lightning discs that come back to him like boomerangs! I was at the edge of my seat on my second attempt, finishing at no estus and landing one of the most cathartic finishing blows of all. Then, with the Blood of the Dark Soul on hand, I made my way back to Firelink, made my final level ups, and headed to Ariandel to talk with that minor NPC who says she'll paint me a pretty land. I'll... make sure she doesn't know I duked it out with her uncle and won. The blood came from somewhere else, that's my excuse!
Dark Souls 3 divides me. Souls 2 was a great, if sometimes overly risky leap with some mechanics a lot of people didn't gel with. 3 is a mixed bag that was mostly enjoyable, if very stingy with Souls and Titanite, sometimes underwhelming in a few areas, and lacking in the buildcrafting that Souls 2 had plenty of. Despite the mixed feelings, Ringed City turned out to be the one true highlight of my nearly 60 hour romp, and it's well worth the price of admission for how much of a stunning, if slightly anticlimactic conclusion it is to the trilogy. To those that read these last 3 months of rambles, thanks. It's been a long journey, but I'm very content with long games for at least a few months now. Time to unwind, go back to thieving in Sly 2, knock out other games that aren't extremely long RPGs. I need it!
digital devil story doodles from a few months ago