Despite the disappointment with DS II, I am a bit giddy over hearing that DS III will be released! It will (supposedly) be the last in the series. Of course, experience has told me that as long as there's lots of money to make, it's never the last. Anyway, here's the trailer which as you might expect says basically nothing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RAlGv-IW4g

I read that Hidetaka Miyazaki is working on this, so that gives one hope. If this will be half as great as the original DS, it will be well worth it. If it will be half as good as DS II, it will stink.

I expect them to announce Bloodborne 2 shortly after this game releases.

I definitely didn't enjoy DaSII as much as DaS, that's for sure. I didn't think it was a bad game, though. Ungraceful, maybe, but not poor.

Anyways, yeah. I might have to break my personal promise of not buying any more consoles after the current generation (360, PS3) dies completely.

Interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki (sort of)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxliiQVzdTE

While we're waiting for DS III, might as well look back at the past 2 + Demon's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMU41taZJLw

"Starring Super Meat-Boy"

Release date is April 12. Did anyone pre-order? There's a "day-one edition" with soundtrack and some unique cover and mini-guide. There's also the collector's edition for $129.99.
Dark Souls II was a bit of a disappointment when it came out, although it became quite good when it received the Scholar of the First Sin update. I may just wait for Dark Souls III GoTY or something of that nature. Anyway, considering Dark Souls is the best RPG series to come out of Japan in perhaps ever, I am looking forward to this!

pretty excited to get this. i played the beta for a few hours. still need to get the dlc to bloodborne at some point, hmmm.

I didn't pre-order, because I don't expect the game to sell out on launch day.
Also, I'm more of a Bloodborne person than a Souls person, but from what I've heard, the combat in DS3 is supposedly a bit closer to Bloodborne than the other Souls games, so that has peaked my interest.

Honestly, I wish Souls was less combat more about exploration. I think you can have a good mix. The enemies in DS get boring. At least in DS II they stop spawning after so many kills.

I want to say this a massive amount of hyperbole... maybe best, most recent type/kind RPG to come out of Japan?

I'd be willing to say that since standard J-RPGs are in such a terrible state of disarray/horribly stagnate these days.

And yes, I realize I'm challenging an opinion with an opinion.

Indeed I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of JRPSs to begin with, although there are some that are really great. Etrian Odyssey as a whole is great, although the series is getting a bit old (same formula over and over). Ys is an excellent series, with Ys 7 being the best in my opinion. Fire Emblem is amazing! That is probably the second best JRPG series I have played, apart from Dark Souls. I wish more Wizardry games would have made it over here. As it stands, the only J-Wizardry I played was the PS2 version which really was excellent, except for ALL the battles... but that's the same complaint I have with Dark Souls. Numerous battles get old. I see tons of new JRPGs all the time, but none of them look particularly appealing with the aforementioned being notable exceptions. Overall I completely agree with what Ashley said. Most J-RPGs are stagnate, and the ones that are succeeding seem to be more Western-like (with some exception).

There was a Wizardry on PS3 but you'd probably turn your nose up to it because it was digital only. And since when did Wizardry consist of anything but battles? The games were always set up as grinds because the mazes were so small.

Did you play the PS2 version? It's way more than just battles! Like most RPGs battles and increasing your stats are at the heat of the game. Nevertheless, there are puzzles, side-quests, etc. I'd like to play the PS3 version, but not interested in digital-only. Also, it good rather poor reviews...

Someone around has to be playing DS3. Comments? Thoughts?

*raises hand*

Got it day one when it was released in Japan, finished it shortly before it was released in the US on 4/12 (then bought Ratchet & Clank which was released on the same day, which is also a great game btw!).
Loved it. Hands down my favorite Souls game. About on par with Bloodborne I would say.

You can see the Bloodborne influences in that it's faster-paced than the other Souls games, but it's not as heavily oriented towards aggression. You'll still need to make good use of your shields and dodge rolls.

World layout is more like Bloodborne as well. You don't have one huge interconnected world like in Dark Souls 1, but you have a lot of areas that are sometimes separated, sometimes connected, with the occasional shortcut here and there. Lots of room for exploration too, but it feels a bit more streamlined, which I welcome.
It looks quite nice too, but if you have the option, definitely play on PC. The PS4 version runs at 30fps at best and has obvious frame rate dips, whereas the PC version runs at a fairly constant 60fps from what I've been told.

Boss fights are kick-ass, and definitely more akin to Bloodborne: fast, aggressive, and huge. The difficulty curve is probably the best it's ever been: it starts out easy (by Souls standards) and gets progressively harder. End-game bosses will slaughter you if you don't know what you're doing.
In the older games, I felt that any boss at any point in the game could be ridiculously easy or insanely hard; you never really knew until you started fighting it. In Dark Souls III, it feels much more like the early-game bosses are relatively easy, and the end-game ones are brutal. It feels more balanced.

I played as a Warrior on my first playthrough, but I just started a second playthrough as a Pyromancer last night. I think a magic build will play very differently.

Played up until beating Vordt? I think that's it's name. The first boss, the feral Knight.

Fantastic game. This series is bloody phenomenal. I chose the Dex based girl and immediately went that path. Found a katana and slapped some fire damage on her.

It feels more like Dark Souls than II did.

'Dark Souls 3' DLC updates: First expansion release this fall

http://www.vinereport.com/article/dark- … /10125.htm

"Bandai Namco has confirmed that the first expansion for the game is expected to come in fall, reported Video Gamer. After which, the second DLC is expected to be released later on."

Just killed the Crystal Sage and opened up either going to the Cathedral of the Deep or Farron Keep, and decided on the latter.  I extinguished two flames before turning it off for the night.

Has anyone tried the DLC for DSII? I'm tempted to purchase it, but don't want to outright buy Scholar of the First Sin.

I didn't touch it, even though I bought SotFS, but everyone I know says it's great, and for some it's the only redeeming element of the game

Didn't actually purchase the DLC for DS II since it came with Scholar of the First Sin. However, it's magnificent. As a whole, it really elevates DS II from an "it was OK" experience to "that was awesome" albeit not DS I awesome, but not far away. You should purchase all 3 DLCs since they are an integral part of Vendrick's story. They are also very challenging, but also have some of the best boss fights in all the Souls games (I have not yet played DSIII so that is not being considered). Also, some of the best music in the series is here, for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh7nTM6D-GU

Anyway, long story short, I would ABSOLUTELY recommend anyone to play the game with all the DLCs. Also, if you can, get the PS4 version which is much superior to the PS3 version.

I'll second that (I played them on PS3). They are substantial additions and make the (already pretty big) game vast, and most of my favourite co-op multiplayer was had with the DLC bosses. Definitely rounds out the story nicely along with the DS1 DLC.

I should mention that I loved DS2 just as much as the first, even without the expansions - I just didn't have the same problems with the game that many others did.

Sexual analysis of the Dark Souls games... interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LueVmefY_Kg

Can't say that I agree with everything he says (the castration thing seems far-fetched, even if phallic symbolism isn't) but people have been doing sexual analyses of these games for years now, since it's pretty obvious, ESPECIALLY in Bloodborne.

There was this article on Kotaku that name-drops Dark Souls:

http://kotaku.com/sex-the-kotaku-review-1732616782

And then there's this sort-of-parody article in sort-of-response:

http://www.zam.com/article/353/sex-is-like-dark-souls

It's fun to see how much these games get people talking though. It's probably the most relevant Japanese game series in existence right now.

I also like VattiVidya's interpretation of the series. I don't think his interpretation and the sexual analysis are necessarily conflicting.

https://www.youtube.com/user/VaatiVidya

Furthermore, let me add that Demon's Souls took the series in a far different path than Dark Souls or Bloodborne. In many ways, I would like them to return to Demon's Souls which really was no less fun than Dark Souls. It was a more "light hearted" game, in my opinion. Also, I do have to agree it is the most "relevant" Japanese game in existence right now and will go down in history as one of the most important games/series ever. I can't but help find it ironic that such a Western-inspired RPG is currently the most iconic Japanese RPG, but hey, life is amusing that way

R34 on Priscilla or bust.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder … cha-games/

Hidetaka Miyazaki "What is certain for now is, to me personally Dark Souls is over. So rather than make another sequel, I think it’s time we take a step to a new direction... However, Miyazaki also wants to go back and maybe resurrect another series, “Armored Core is one of the pillars of FromSoftware’s lineup, but I can’t reveal anything at the moment."

Bad move in my opinion. It's like Nintendo saying "Mario is dead". Yeah, I think they'll go back to the Souls games after you know, they realize most people don't care about a mecha game and that it won't sell anywhere near what a Souls game does. On the other hand, it's also possible that if they stop producing Souls games some other company will take up the slack. Sure, another company can not actually make a "Souls" game, but they can make a Souls-like game, which is what a lot of people want.

There have been some Souls-like games but they're mostly 2D indie games.
I think the only really Souls-inspired 3D game so far was Lords of the Fallen, which is apparently pretty bad.
I honestly can't see anyone capture the essence of the series as well as From does.

Slashy Souls? ...........................Uhhhhhh........................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ4AMsTWlE0

ps A "good" 2-D Souls game would be awesome...

http://www.polygon.com/2016/9/21/129994 … ast-finale

"It’s time to move away from the Dark Souls franchise...As president of From Software, I’m not completely denying the possibility of bringing back the franchise in the future."

Doesn't sound like a smart decision in my opinion, unless he plans to continue to make Dark Souls in all but name (like Bloodborne).

Maybe it's not smart, but it is refreshing in a certain sense. I mean think of other franchises: had the Mega Man X series ended with X5 as Inafune planned I'd probably be able to look back at that franchise with a little less irritation than I do now.

(Yes, X8 is pretty decent and the music past X5 is one of the only things that makes me glad there were more games.)

He's been saying this for a while, and I totally understand.
I love the Souls games, but I wouldn't mind if they moved away from it now. Quit while you're ahead, I'd say.

That said, I'm pretty sure their next big thing will not be all that different. More different than Bloodborne, but probably still in the same vein as the series.

That I think is fine. The thing about Dark Souls is that it's unique. While other RPGs are equally as amazing (Skyrim, Witcher, etc) they're also different. No other franchise is the same as Souls. If they refuse to make any more, I bet some other company will step in (hopefully), or better yet, FROM will continue with the overall mechanics and design.