allyourbaseare Apr 20, 2009
In leiu of taking over the Valkyria Chronicles thread, I decided to make this one.
http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/
Pretty much everything you need to know about the game is contained there. Since the game is still only out in the Eastern regions, you'll have to import it (or ebay).
That video gives you an idea of what to expect when playing through the game. I'm currently a female knight (which I'm finding out seems to be one of the harder classes to play as ) and am slogging through level 2-2. There's no "official" numbering, but there are 5 areas which you can visit and slay demons.
This game is brutally hard. ...and it's not like levelling up is going to help you out all that much. For those of you who loved Etrian Odyssey (myself included) this should be right up your alley. It's unforgiving, but if you stick around long enough to learn the ropes, you'll find a deep, rewarding game just waiting for you.
Each "stage" has a boss at the end and these things are NASTY. You though the odds were stacked against you playing Shadow of the Colossus? Think again. You are very much human and move as such. The monsters are huge, powerful, and quick. Get used to one-hit kills if you're not prepared. Here's one such boss: Tower Knight (1-2). (spoilers on how to defeat him). I must've gone through that stage at least 20 times.
The ambience is spot on. There's no real music except for the Nexus (kind of hub area) and the bosses. With as much as I was raised on JRPG's, not having music in the background is somewhat refreshing. There's no forced mediocre melody so you can really "hear" your area. For example, the first "stage" is a huge castle (brilliantly designed) and you can hear wood bending as you step on it, or if your sword strikes the wall you hear the sound of steel against stone. It feels like you're there.
This is a great game. Apparently Sony's Japan Studio co-developed it with From Software. The result is one of the most brutal ARPG's in the vein of King's Field to come out in years. A brilliant game that warrants play from anyone who enjoys the genre.