Overview
Before I dive into FromSoftware’s newest title for the Switch 2, there’s one work I must complete first.
Among the Dark Souls trilogy, the only one I hadn't played yet was the original. It's time to clear it!
Looking at it like this... it seems like every three or four years, around April, I end up finishing a Dark Souls game.
Maybe I have a natural tendency to want to play Dark Souls from the New Year into spring.
Travel Diary
I arrived in the kingdom of Lordran. Ah, this feeling — this is what FromSoftware’s worlds always deliver. That sense of being both vast and confined at the same time.
A gathering place for the undead. Apparently, this guy is pretty famous in the Dark Souls community. So, you’re the Blue Loner, huh!
In the original Dark Souls, the first mission seems to be to ring two "Bells of Awakening."
Yes, this is it. A beautiful ruin, overflowing with monsters. This is exactly what a FromSoftware game should be.
You defeat the monsters that attack you, defeat the bosses that somehow try to prevent you from ringing the bells, and then ring them loud and clear.
So mysterious. But that’s just how FromSoftware games are!
Then, a friendly monster reveals the protagonist’s true mission: to succeed Lord Gwyn.
I’ve heard of Gwyn before! The Lord of Cinder, right?
To do that, I need the Lordvessel, which is located in Anor Londo.
Anor Londo! That's the place that also appeared in Dark Souls III, right?
Even though this is my first time in Lordran, it feels so nostalgic.
And so, I arrived at Anor Londo.
There, I received the Lordvessel from Gwynevere, Gwyn’s daughter.
Apparently, I need to fill the Lordvessel with the souls of powerful beings.
But it was so hard to find those who held the Lord Souls...
While wandering around Lordran, I accidentally stumbled into the DLC content included in the Remastered version.
The boss there, Manus, was incredibly tough...
However, since I wasn't limiting my level this time, I managed to defeat him without much trouble.
One of the monsters with a Lord Soul was the Bed of Chaos.
You! I’ve heard about you online!
You’re infamous as one of the worst bosses, right?
Even though the Bed of Chaos was truly a terrible boss, I finally reached the Kiln of the First Flame, where Lord Gwyn awaits.
It’s only fitting that Dark Souls ends at the Kiln of the First Flame!
Gwyn’s battle theme is a sorrowful piano piece — so different from typical final boss themes.
I had listened to it many times in Davi Vasc's videos, which I often use for English listening practice.
Even as the final boss, there’s no intensity — just sadness.
And it’s never really explained why Gwyn attacks you.
Upon clearing the game, you get to choose whether to succeed Gwyn or not.
Reflections
And so, I finally finished my journey through Dark Souls.
- I got a Black Knight Sword drop early in the game, which made everything much easier overall.
I thought it was a fixed drop at first, but a friend told me it’s actually random.
Maybe I was lucky... or maybe unlucky, since I didn’t get the chance to use many other weapons. - I played the Switch version, but the Switch version doesn't have a Platinum Trophy system.
Because of that, as a completionist gamer like Midori-san, I couldn't really find motivation to collect all items or see every ending.
That might be a good thing — or not.
