FromSoftware's weird old games

Evergrace, enchanted arms, lost kingdoms, otogi, or kuon, fromsoft really used to do some strange stuff. this video is about said stuff.
#FromSoftware #Darksouls #Demonssouls
●▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬●
Links:
Twatter: tinyurl.com/a2ns479
Patronize: www.patreon.com/user?u=2285408
Ask me stuff: ask.fm/ThorHighHeels
My music: adolfnomura.bandcamp.com/music
Thanks for watching!

[@thorhighheels]

UMURANGI GENERATION: store.steampowered.com/app/1223500/Umurangi_Generation/ yo do u want name? like name at {enter time code here u dumb ass} then u can patreon! patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=2285408 i should say also, despite what i say at the start of this video, playing evergrace and kingsfield has never made me want to try out the souls games more then ive ever wanted to. i picked up demon soul. i will play soon. not sure if video or not but i will do dis

[@adamtestagrossa3285]

For some reason, your Patreon name list at 8:58 reminded me of the game Cannon Fodder. At the end of each mission, if you lost a comrade, you would hear some somber music and their name would scroll by: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIKkdqmZa7ymjrs

[@woldemunster9244]

Download the FREE DEMO NOW!

[@JustinDoesntLookAt]

fuckin excellent video as always Thor. Absolutely happy to support and seeing my name at {enter time code here u dumb ass} every time! Demon Souls man. In my opinion it is the peak of that very essence you describe here. hope u enjoy it g

[@greenhowie]

I know you're not to keen on the streamy things but damn I'd love to see you discovering that world for yourself.

[@johnsilverman656]

If you liked Evergrace I think you’ll dig Demons Souls... it’s harder definitely, but a lot of that design mentality translates across (but murkier)

[@UnibrowZombie]

The NPCs are either suicidal or murderous. Yeah, that's Fromsoft alright.

[@Zayl1016]

A lot of your compliments for Evergrace actually fit into a lot of reasons why people really like Demon's/Dark Souls/Bloodborne/ uh, Sekiro... The intricate world, mysteries, and challenging but rewarding gameplay all are why a lot of people like them. They get too much of a reputation as a hardcore game (as memey as that is), but are crafted really damn well.

[@flamebrindger3984]

EXACTLY! From Software were underdogs that succeeded. Sekiro is a great game that doesn't suffer from the grinding/pacing issues that every Soulsbourne game has. It didn't require you to grind or the game would feel shorter if you knew all the tips and tricks. It's a good direction for them and I hope they take what worked it Sekiro for Elden Ring, or other future games and have that Breath of the Wild game. Because let's be real, if you played one Souls games you played them all and everyone wants to capitalize on this niche genre.

[@blumiu2426]

@@flamebrindger3984 I think Sekiro was doing it's own thing, like Bloodborne did from Dark Souls. They are intended to play different, so Elden Ring will play different itself.

[@adamiadamiadami]

@@flamebrindger3984 lol wtf are you talking about. grinding in soulsborne? pacing? i mean, demon's souls had some grinding if you wanted to do 100% all achievements, as well as the other games to some extent. but you absolutely never have to grind in any of them lol. and sekiro has worse pacing than most for me.

[@Dasqal]

Sunkensees There’s no grinding in souls games unless you want there to be. Farming enemies for souls or specific drops is something i’ve never done in any of the 5 souls games.

[@ridleyroid9060]

I was about to write this. He has no excuse to not play those games anymore.

[@airorello6290]

I miss the days when companies made whatever the heck they wanted.

[@franciscofarias6385]

There's more creativity now than ever. It's just that they're now called 'indie', while the current AAA has no parallel in the past.

[@cyanplaza5153]

@@franciscofarias6385 That's not exactly true though, because indie titles usually don't have the budgets or distribution that ""AA" games had. You're really not gonna see Stretch Panic or shit like that on shelves anymore because it doesn't make *enough* money. Still probably enough to make back it's budget and keep everyone gainfully employed, but what about the poor shareholders?

[@teriyaki_chicken]

And now its about making returns on investments, selling as much as possible, and milking things as long as you can with season passes, re-releases, unnecessary sequels, etc.

[@franciscofarias6385]

@@teriyaki_chicken uhhhhh it was always about that, only season passes are a new thing because of technology. C'mon guys, let's stop repeating the same tired ideas and let's think more critically about stuff

[@cyanplaza5153]

@@franciscofarias6385 Actually, I have to say how the games are produced and the economic conditions that surround them are kinda where the base of the conversation has to take place. Like, as we've seen from old time devs trying to break out and spiritually continue development on series that didn't get greenlit (see: Bloodstained), people still want the games and people still want to make the game, but those people don't control the business. Do you sincerely think anyone tied to the Dead Island MOBA really wanted that game to exist, or were they going through the motions for a paycheck because their publisher told them to get to work? A material analysis is important because then it leads to further questions and an actual way forward, rather than "people just don't get games like Seek and Destroy or Phantom Crash anymore", which if that was true this channel would have 5 subs. If you care about games, you have to start asking yourself how to divorce the artistic side of the medium from the side that needs to make as much money as possible in the shortest time as possible. And you are right, this shit has existed in the past in different forms (how many SF2 home releases were there?), but the consolidation of capital has only made the medium more predatory. If you want an AAA basketball game, you can either put up with NBA2K20's $70 and mtx, or get fucked and wait till next year for Tiburon, there's no "voting with your wallet" option in this shit.

[@Narokkurai]

FromSoft was low-key one of my favorite developers as a kid. Lost Kingdoms, Evergrace, and Otogi were all games that immediately struck me as being something different and worth paying attention to. I was basically the only person I knew who was actually excited for Demon's Souls before it came out.

[@ergheiz1245]

Heck yeah. Lost Kingdom is such a unique experience. Im so glad I kept my copy

[@greenhowie]

I like playing games where the menu shows the character's blood type and has a logo of the game itself in the corner. I don't know why. It just kind of feels cutely enthusiastic, like "Hey, we worked hard on these menus! Look at all this detail!"

[@Brorrowind]

Talking about games that aren't Souls games from From Software but tagging it with the souls games. Clever.

[@jp5394]

In all fairness he does mention the Souls series briefly.

[@RustTillDusk]

But no #Bloodborne REEEEEEE

[@mrbaaman]

@@RustTillDusk hilarious

[@firewolf11567]

@@RustTillDusk Meh

[@ShinFahima]

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the Souls series carries some incredibly minor traits from their old work like Evergrace.

[@nikurusu7646]

I just found out that EverGrave actually got a seuqel, somehow! The localized version of it for North America was renamed to "Forever Kingdom" for some reason, while it was still titled "EverGrace 2" in Japan.

[@Caydiem]

Not gonna lie: I'm pretty interested in Evergrace now.

[@ShinFahima]

Oh man, it's REALLY dated what with being a PS2 release title and all, but it was amazing. Like. . . It's just an experience.

[@Coco-vv8nf]

it looks better then most the copy paste crap we get now

[@rayweaver8295]

It might be kind of hard to get into now as a lot of it is probably pretty outdated but it was a pretty cool game in retrospect. It's a game that you appreciate if you got to play it during that time period.

[@warehouse3459]

It's a childhood favorite of mine. You can probably find a used copy on Amazon or Ebay

[@gilbertgotfried]

It's a good game. A really dark story being told in a very non-dark way. In a way it feels a lot like Dark Cloud, both in its gameplay and in its rough-around-the-edges presentation, only with changeable clothes instead of town building. Its design has a lot of charm to it, and even the obtuse dungeons are easy enough to figure out and fun to play. One thing is that the monster designs are fantastic for such a limited budget game and you can get a really close look at the models by buying monster codex entries at the shop. The soundtrack also speaks for itself, really weird and oddly soulful in places that catch you off guard once you really listen to it. It's not a hard game by any means and the game is only about 8-10 hours long (and that's playing with both characters), so it doesn't overstay its welcome. And while Thor said not to treat earlier From games like steps on a ladder to their current Souls output, the fact is that there are a lot of themes and character types in Evergrace that transferred over to Souls and it's fun as hell to catch them. It even has a bonus area that works a bit like Bloodborne's chalice dungeons called the Shadow Tower, where you can fight unused bosses and get weapons like the Moonlight Greatsword. I don't know why people are pointing out that it's dated considering it came out 21 years ago. Anybody should know that it'll be a product of its time at that point, and I would never call datedness a legitimate criticism if it's literally only dated because it released a long time ago.

[@vioectrolysis]

I would love to see an Evergrace remake, just to see what they would do to keep that interesting soundtrack alive

[@Cloudy_Berry79]

There's a prequel to Evergrace called Forever Kingdom. Very similar soundtrack, but I tend to enjoy Foever Kingdom's soundtrack more.

[@vioectrolysis]

@@Cloudy_Berry79 Oh my god, I didn't knew about it. Thank you!! I just love it. Fromsoft and atlus should make a game, the ost would be amazing

[@SlyHikari03]

@@Cloudy_Berry79 If they ever remake that game, Oneohtrix Point Never/Daniel Lopatin needs to do the music. It’s perfect for him.

[@Cloudy_Berry79]

@@SlyHikari03 I'm not familiar with that artist, but I think they should stick with the original composer. Kota Hoshino has grown as a composer and it shows when you listen to Evergrace, then listen to Forever Kingdom. The difference in cohesive writing is huge. Hoshino is still making music with FromSoftware, so I very much doubt he would willingly let one of his creations go to another composer for a remake.

[@gilbertgotfried]

@@Cloudy_Berry79 Forever Kingdom's soundtrack, if anything, is even more animalistic and intense than the first game's. That attract cutscene blew me away with just how wild Hoshino got right out of the gate.

[@Cousin_Uli]

FromSoft jank is a special kind of jank. It's a jank of the soul. Something deeply endearing permeates the unsorted heap of dirty and clean clothes that is their catalogue.

[@jmalmsten]

That made me think of it as basically the video-game equivalent of David Lynch's janky vfx in Twin Peaks: The Return (aka s3) It's so blatantly low grade and off in many places that it becomes it's own estetic. You are forced to divorce your brain from interpreting the visuals as a representation of reality. It just isn't trying to look real. Which also reminded me of my own pet theory that The Return is basically an 18 hour long Let's Play of an obscure 90's era-inspired FMV point and click adventure game. But yeah. There is an earnestness to the jank in these games. Like with cult movies. It cannot be manufactured. You need an honest attempt behind the Jank for it to be that good.

[@kingkebo3960]

The jank is actually in service of the polished parts of the game, instead of just being borne out of laziness or incompetence

[@qwikk]

Jank Souls

[@andyghkfilm2287]

@@qwikkyou’re absolutely right

[@slingshotmcoy]

Fromsoft are a great example of why I absolutely hate the modern gamer. Because we force developers into little boxes and only allow/support them to make certain games, we miss out on some weird unique shit.

[@isaacsussman5632]

the old gamer was like that too. I still remember how people lost thier shit about something as simple as an art style change in zelda that lead to some of the most samey generic games in that franchise. Or the fact street fighter cant have a game without the original 12 from 2 after everyone got pissy about the cast of 3. Do i even have to elaborate on paper mario? Nothing grasshoppers manufacturer has made has gotten as much attention as no more heroes. I know a lot of those are granular examples but still. Its not just the modern era (i assume you mean around 2010) that does this. And the fact publishers dont care unless things sell makes that mindset incredibly rewarding. Its sad

[@robertcop9889]

I agree completely. I remember growing up and seeing gaming magazines that touted some new IP as "The CoD Killer" or "The WoW Killer" like, why can't they just be their own thing? But of course making games takes a lot of time and money, and few devs wanted to place their bets on anything but a sure thing. However, the 6th generation of consoles did do a fantastic job of capturing that creative freedom the new tech of that time gave them. With it came a whole library of gems across multiple consoles that are still played to this day. I admit I want FROM to go back to Armored Core (I miss it so much) but I want them to be more than just Dark Souls/Armored Core.

[@FLY1NF1SH]

It's funny, I think one of the best examples of this is COD infinite warfare, the space and spaceship combat was so interesting and fun and would have been an amazing multiplayer if cod wasn't beholden to make an "as COD as possible" game - one which cod fans still collectively lost their minds about because jetpacks

[@twilightvulpine]

That's just how art is. Movies, books, music. Once anything gets popular, fans and executives want to push everything else to be more of that.

[@rupel190]

@Aces Spades Thank you for being like this and expressing it in such a wonderful way. Especially for the last paragraph.

[@vvmurphyvv]

So, this video has the most in depth critique of Kota Hoshino I've ever encountered, and I'm genuinely thankful that someone appreciates the uniqueness of his work enough to highlight it. I personally was introduced to his work though Armored Core 4A, but I am slowly coming to realize that he's probably like my favorite video game composer of all time. Very, very cool that someone out there gets the vibe he's about.

[@cyanplaza5153]

I grew up on the Evergrace/Lost Kingdom so I am really biased but if he's not my favorite, he's easily the most interesting. Dude is willing to put out whatever he wants into a game and deserves so much respect because of that. Although his AC stuff has a lot more polish and is amazing.

[@ShinFahima]

Yeah man the dude is amazing. :D

[@Joe-eb4tl]

Yeah I thought it was pretty reductive to call some of his work “sample pack-y.” Or to compare some of the music to something you would’ve made as a 14-year-old.

[@aa-ot3cg]

Ive come back to this video multiple times just for the hoshino part cus it makes me very happy to hear someone talk about him and take take his aesthetic seriously.

[@no_misaki]

@@Joe-eb4tl It legit does sound like that though. The janky first steps of someone who's still finding a foothold in their craft.

[@jake_hicks]

Ever grace,+ chrono and ffx ost reminds me of the times I spent with my brother who has passed. We spent hours trying to beat evergrace. That opening stage. RIP matt miss you big bro

[@mistahchad220]

This is very sweet. I'm glad you have so many unique soundtracks to associate with your brother, and I hope you're doing alright, lad. It's not easy moving on, but things like this do help.

[@BattleFish89]

[@themadhattress5008]

I'm sorry for your loss. Cherish those memories, homie.

[@susususu6778]

I'm sorry for your loss, I hope you have a good week.

[@indejcriptible]

be happy that u treasure those moments with him, take care buddy

[@RayShadow278]

At least there was a little Armored Core in the video... even if it was mostly about it's kickass OST... The franchise is so full of depth and tech, you can jump in to any installment of the franchise and you will get a challenge. It's so good...

[@planetschlock]

Those were my first From Software games. I want to make one of those raspberry pi emulation consoles just so I can revisit the PS1 era games.

[@DonnyKirkMusic]

In retrospect I'd say AC3 is pretty weak but Silent Line is actually a really good "patch" of sorts; fixed a lot of glaring balance issues in the original. But yea vanilla AC3 is a bit "unga" IMO. All good builds feel like cheating in that game and you have to deliberately build a cool-but-underpowered AC (not a bad thing but they aren't ideal) to have fun. The rest are pretty amazingly challenging though, where you are sitting in the garage thinking for over 15 mins. I'm also thinking of 1v1 when I think of balance moreso; the actual mission mode is fun in AC3.

[@Krystalmyth]

Armored Core is such a mood, especially the middle of the series. Where it almost crosses into Front Mission atmosphere. It really is its own kind of essence. Ace Combat often has a similar vibe.

[@Dizerfullpower]

@@DonnyKirkMusic This, it's unfair to label Metal Wolf Chaos as "funnier AC" when it's really dumbed down meme AC or something. Also, earlier Another Century Episode games were sort of fun too, even if in a special way.

[@nanotheron]

maybe armored core will get its own video

[@Xx_rainyflowers_xX]

The lack of Enchanted Arms fans in this comment section is really a shame, but it means a whole lot to me that you talked about it. The game means so so much to me because of how me and my Dad played it together during a really hard time in my life and I'm currently replaying it! The characters and the plot and even the horrible voice acting all make me so comfortable and you mentioning Makoto and how he's got his own stuff happening rather than just shifting him off to the side makes me so happy. Him and Mystery Man are my favorite characters and I think that he's just to cool and had a lot going on behind the scenes and that it's awesome that he's gay and treated normally, at least as normally as 2006 could have. Again, Enchanted Arms is lovely and I think more people should play it, and I'm so happy that you spoke about it in a more positive light!

[@mark-ge2yl]

Enchanted arms is an amazing game

[@historian252]

You are making rather cringy remarks.

[@sunnysideup137]

@@historian252 EMOTIONS? on MY internet? that's CRINGE

[@Ma1n_Zane]

I was a kid when I played Enchanted Arms. Now I just wanna play my disc that's scratched to shit on a PS3 that barely runs

[@armus139]

Enchanted arms was the first game I played for ps3. Loved it.

[@keithsimpson2685]

I miss weird games. Even weird games nowadays don't feel as truly surreal or weird as some of the stuff I'd find in the bargain bin in the mid 90's. I had Tecmo's deception 1 as a kid when it first released... that was some shit for a kid man.

[@btchiaintkidding7837]

u might like "Cruelty Squad"

[@keithsimpson2685]

@@btchiaintkidding7837 I did. I try pretty much all the Civvie11 channel games and lots of megaten lately.

[@GUNUFofficial]

You might like space funeral and it's sequels blood blood and earth birth.

[@johns8369]

List some stuff you liked so I can dig it up

[@FajitaPants]

Seeing ANY video made recently that talks about evergrace makes me so happy

[@nono9543]

It's good to see other people who played Evergrace at last

[@orateusdijin6557]

Evergrace... should always be prasiedddddd.

[@ulaladiva]

I heard the music before anything and was like "is that.... Evergrace? Holy crap!"

[@klonoa450]

I feel ya man

[@darkraioxxx]

Yeyeye

[@willcapewell5700]

Believe me dood, you've played much harder games than dark souls or demon souls

[@darko1295]

Hollow Knight

[@Demokaze]

Sure, but those games have to be comparable otherwise your point is moot. And there are also easier games than Dark Souls but much harder on their highest difficulty setting, which may or may not have to be unlocked first (eg. Dante Must Die in Devil May Cry series).

[@BaconheartStuff]

The Souls' series difficulty is generally overstated by weirdos who think playing them makes them somehow special. They're deliberate, and require you to learn, think and adapt more than most games, but aren't that hard.

[@Ryonin3627]

He played God Hand, everything is so easy in comparison

[@TofuSG98]

@@Ryonin3627 this is true, god hand is waaay fucking harder than any souls-like lmao

[@fonarte]

FWIW, Motoi Sakuraba is also a self taught musician who didn't learn traditional theory. (Dark Souls composer)

[@PotKun]

I remember playing Evergrace as a kid and being scared of the experiment looking monsters. I bought it once again when I was around 21. Great game, never knew From Software made it. Good to know.

[@kuronoroux8864]

Evergrace, I WAS 5 when I saw it on a videogame magazine, it was called the "Future of RPG's!"

[@indejcriptible]

well, they were right

[@gilbertgotfried]

Considering how popular apocalyptic JRPGs are, it's clear now that Evergrace was 20 years ahead of its time.

[@horacegentleman3296]

That was prophetic

[@Jesse__H]

holy shit. EVERGRACE! I've been trying to remember the name of that game for seriously fifteen years. I somehow owned a copy on my ps2 and all I remember is that ear-worm song at the beginning, and something about the weapons being strange, and that the opening stage was very orange and autumn-colored. That has NOT been enough to look up the game lol, until now!! Thank you for finally reminding me! I cant believe it's a Fromsoft game. But I remember being so confused by it back in the day, so that makes sense 😅

[@heroinboblivesagain5478]

My mom absolutely loved the Kings Field series. It was the only first person game she ever liked. I remember spending many hours after school watching her play. Unfortunately she got a real sick last December and can't even hold a controller anymore, I'm going to have to find our old disks and PS2 and play for her.

[@SionBarzhado]

That’s a really sweet story about your mom! It’s always nice when you can share an interest in video games with your parents. I hope she gets better! I think it’s pretty cool she likes the King’s Field series.

[@heroinboblivesagain5478]

@@SionBarzhado Thank you man. I appreciate it :)

[@SionBarzhado]

@@heroinboblivesagain5478 Hey man, did your mom end up managing to recover from her illness? I hope so!

[@Davisjryoung]

Thank you for drawing attention to From Softwares extremely diverse and fascinating back catalog, because while I love the Soulsborne games to death, these older games deserve a lot more recognition. From Software always took really big chances with their games, and even when they didn’t always work out, you could still tell that a lot of love and care went into making them. Their reach exceeded their grasp more often than not in their early days, but what they lacked in experience and budget, they more than made up for in sheer heart and ambition. An amazing video as always, keep up the good work.

[@nope1018]

This negativity spiral concept makes a whole lot of professional criticism (in every art medium as far as I can tell) totally bunk. People seriously lack any amount of patience, it's frustrating.

[@Krystalmyth]

Just make sure it doesn't affect you too much, lest we add to it. c: You're so right tho.

[@chrisb6079]

It happens to everyone - not just the "professional" circles.

[@JackieFroSTALKER]

I wonder how much of it in professional outlets is also the deadlines, making games that require more time to learn and appreciate kind of screwed.

[@Captain1nsaneo]

Eh, it's more likely emotionally not liking the game and then the logical parts of you brain comes up with reasons why your emotional side is right. Or at least that's what the research says the brain box does. Could also be that people like their examples in groups of 3 so if you dislike one thing and need to write about a thing you'll look for 2 more things to make your argument seem stronger.

[@Skill5able]

You could call it patience, or you could call it lack of willingness to put up with a game's bullshit.

[@goldoozaru]

ThorHighHeels: "I don't like dark souls" too hard. Plays Evergrace... I Love this shit!!! THEN YOU'LL LOVE DARKSOULS!!!

[@cyanplaza5153]

I actually loathe the Souls series and love Evergrace, even if most of the interesting shit in DS (like the obtuse worldbuild told through bits and pieces in the environment) is shit I loved in Evergrace. I was so happy when I saw him talk about how alien and off-putting the game was, I wish he went more into the story but also like it is something that requires a ton of research and 100 percenting the game to fully understand because it's a hastily ported PS1 game. Like, the main """antagonist""" is only refereed to a few times in the game and is never seen.

[@donu.x.o.2823]

@@cyanplaza5153 I do really like the souls but evergrace seems to have everything i love in a game (ost very much included). Do you have any tips on possible emulation on pc/resources for the lore?

[@Notius]

@PurpleSage I think that was the point, it's just kinda tedious and obtuse at first, which is what Evergrace seems to be.

[@strictlybananas]

20:23 That song from AC:FA is called “Precious Park” if anyone else was wondering.

[@AzazelTheMisanthrope]

Kota Hoshino is my favorite video game composer of all time; I've been following his weird works for like 15 years and I am extremely pleased to hear someone talk about him.

[@jay-walker8539]

Man I just vibe with your thoughts on video games so much, I feel like you've got a really great philosophy on appreciating the weird unknown stuff and I hella appreciate that. Watching your vids makes me wanna start working on my own game, since a lot of the stuff you cover is just so damn interesting. That stuff about taking inspiration from games like these really resonated with me.

[@Rodrikilus]

same, it's so refreshing hearing a guy talk positively about esoteric shit without being all like: WOW bros this is so wacky!!!!

[@JackieFroSTALKER]

I feel like I finally found a KZbinr who gets it. I've always been one to try and find good aspects to get enjoyment out of even in mediocre games and that is basically a lot of what THH does.

[@asgoritolinasgoritolino7708]

So do you agree with his opinion of: "lol I don't like punishing games, what do you mean I have to make an effort to complete this?" or "lmao fromsoftware sequels are just more of the same game". They are completely laughable and totally ridiculous in my opinion, but seems like people will agree with anything a person says on youtube...

[@fiso64]

@@asgoritolinasgoritolino7708 Punishing games aren't for everybody, come on. I don't see why you have a problem with this. He's mostly right about From's sequels. Don't get me wrong, DS3 is one of my favorite games of all time and I like it more than DS1, but you can't deny their similarity. They have the same themes, some reused items and areas, and other stuff. It doesn't add much "new" to the series (besides having faster combat), it's just a refined souls game. His point is further shown by the titles in this video.

[@Rich_P_Anya]

@@asgoritolinasgoritolino7708 thank you!!!

[@d3ath31ng]

The only games I think that can match Evergrace is Baroque (both versions), Drankengard, and Panzer Dragoon II Zwei . Also, the Evergrace OST gets shit on unfairly. Kota Hoshino is an absolute beast of a musician and has such a varied discograph.y

[@ReaperCreeper]

Never played it, which I've been meaning to fix, but I also had Baroque come to mind during the Evergrace bit.

[@rotolotto]

Also here to draw comparison to Baroque. Very, very similar energy and style to them, though baroque leans a bit heavier into the creepy aspect.

[@ShadowBaofu]

@@rotolotto Baroque is great. I love games with these weird esoteric things going on.

[@Maikeru101]

Drakengard was amazing

[@solitudesf8111]

match in what way? drakengard was dogshit.

[@BritishPyjamaman]

I loved enchanted arms! So good to see it on this list, I had no idea it was from software who developed it.

[@CombatPandaMMA]

i LOVE !!!! how frequently you pause your monologue and allow the viewer to vibe out with whatever game/media you are describing. SO important. this is an absolute pleasure to watch :)

[@lepooperman6827]

Ngl That opening song for Ever Grace sounded like some Vaporwave lol

[@ItalianoMobzter7]

I just want more Armored Core, sure there have already been 15 games, but it hasn’t peaked yet damnit.

[@alicesheep6394]

I agree AC has so much potential. I just don't feel like it has "THAT" Game yet at least for Modern systems. Armored Core can be as successful as dark souls I feel.

[@planetschlock]

Same here. An AC reboot for the next console generation with an equal focus on the single player campaign (and none of that online-only multiplayer bullshit) would be a dream come true.

[@metalslugfest]

I always get excited when I hear about a new AC game coming out, but then get disappointed when they mean Assassin's Creed instead of Armored Core.

[@hardgay7537]

@@metalslugfest I feel you there. Not mention there's Ace Combat and Animal Crossing.

[@hayaokakizaki4463]

Another Century's Episode R literally killed the series. I hate that considering R had potential to be good

[@FIGSANE]

I remember owning Evergrace when I was in Middle School. I found it for $12 at Blockbuster. Somehow I didn't find the fact that it was so cheap alarming.

[@deathstinger13]

probably because blockbuster often let games go pretty cheap back in the day. this one got PSO Episode 1 and 2 for the gamecube for 17 bucks

[@elr8691]

The Evergrace OST is one of the most offensive, but intriguing soundtracks of pretty much any game made. I love it.

[@cyanplaza5153]

It has moments of total brilliance. Like the credits song is genuinely one of the best things about the game for how somber and imposing it is.

[@Toasterloaf]

The... sitar? It adds an alien yet intriguing feeling to the game that makes me want to try it out.

[@h.p.lovecraftscat8439]

like its weird or its like a musical n word

[@lightningkitten]

what do you mean by "offensive?"

[@Ezekiel_Allium]

@@lightningkitten I think it's meant here literally as possible. Its offensive in that it's attacking if you get me, the songs are agressively weird sensory assaults and I love them

[@Safersephiroth777]

Damn it man, I really liked Enchanted Arms! Me and a friend of mine were playing it together and we were trying to find them secrets and such! Man 14 years have passed? I am old...

[@Camdavis11]

14 years?!?! Insane.

[@jamesduncan6729]

Enchanted arms was so super dope!

[@Arassar]

RIP Otogi Two of my favorite games and everyone forgets about you.

[@cybercop0083]

Long live „OTOGI - Backwards Compatibility no yomigaeru!!“

[@ericvilela2394]

Dude, i just found your channel and i immediately felt in love. The documentaryesthetic videos you have is something i never found in any other place. I fucking love strange unknown games and franchises that are sitting on "nobody's domain". Thank you for the vids buddy.

[@ji0883]

20:23 for anyone wondering it's called Precious Park from the Armored Core For Answer OST. I love weird shit like this it reminds me of GITS SAC or Cowboy Bebop.

[@1e436]

THANK YOU I checked the whole OST, missed it and almost lost hope

[@theveinmusic]

Thank you SO much ! It drove me crazy to search for it

[@yourMoonstone]

This is easily one of your best videos. I've watched it so many times because it's paced so well and goes so many interesting ways. I love AA games and appreciate how you appreciate em. You're really getting into your groove in a profound way dude. So happy to be a patron. Eagerly looking forward to what you've got coming up!

[@JackieFroSTALKER]

I always get excited when I see a ThorHighHeels video pop up in my notifications! Sexually.

[@bryal7811]

Echo Night Beyond is still one of my favorite horror titles to this day. The Echo Night series itself is wonderful but Beyond really took it to new heights.

[@jmalmsten]

Composer: "You find my methods unsound?" Me: "I don't.. see a method.. at all.. sir." Composer: "hm :)" (walks off into the shadows enigmatically)

[@ryanvandoren1519]

The horror..

[@jmalmsten]

@@ryanvandoren1519 The horror!

[@CloudSoma]

LMFAO this comment right here

[@willmistretta]

I love these old From character models and animations. Everybody looks like they want their MTV.

[@dhoffnun]

This is the crossover I never knew I needed

[@shizuru-2809]

One Hour of highheel's voice. Finna nut!🥜

[@wulfbuoygarwalfey3582]

this ever grace seems like all the prototype design ideas for dark souls but without the aesthetics (which would be king’s field)… how wild

[@tequilawhiskey]

I love how many descriptors you gave for Evergrace echo their modern titles. Theyve had such a trademark for so long its impressive.

[@limarest761]

Man, this type of content is my vibe. It''s like a shitty documentary on a very specific topic, where you put a lot of attention into it but at the same time don't care that much about it. I dunno how to describe this better, but your videos are awesome.

[@GuileOhio]

Here's a list of cool games from this cool developer. Here's one of their cool games. I couldn't be fucked to actually play it, but check it out anyway.

[@alicesheep6394]

It would really be fun to see you take on the Armored Core series seeing as it's so...well EVERYWHERE in From's catalog except how it skipped this console gen in favor of Souls.

[@APioneerInTheSeaOfStars]

I don't think he'd give it a good light at all. I have lots of nostalgia for the PS1/2 series, but for someone like him who's never played it in its prime has a lot of hurdles to jump and the gameplay can be seen as clunky or too repetitive. It can be fun and the progression is awesome, not to mention finding all the hidden parts and making an OP Raven. On a side note, I've never heard of negative criticism from AC's music (mostly by Kota Hoshino). His music really captivated me and AC just fits with his industrial techno songs. Mijk Van Dijk was the right man for AC2's intro song (RoboComBat), I think that game was AC's peak.

[@hairystyles4212]

DUDE I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND THE NAME OF THIS THE LAST 20 YEARS. THANK YOU. Some of the last memories I have with my grandma in 98-2000 was us playing armored core.

[@Spartan-Primer]

​​​@@APioneerInTheSeaOfStars He played For Answer a good while ago. He can definitely give it a fair shake if he tried to showcase it.

[@Joel_Inosin]

buying goods at palmira I actually really like Hoshino Kota's music though, even ^that song. It really does feel like he started to get a grasp of what he wanted to play by armored core even if it still sort sounds weird.

[@Nersius]

Great things can happen when unfavourable conditions are imposed upon a person. I think I actually became an Armored Core fan through accidentally stumbling upon a track on YT over a decade ago, or could be something like a CGR video being recommended to me. Dunno, was over a decade ago.

[@JamesStocks]

Babby's first piano roll sounds like it's trying to be a dance/techno track, not a real piano.

[@siy202]

The music at 16:28 is "Armored Core for Answer Someone is Always Moving on the Surface" took me a good 30 minutes to find that because i thought it was in the armored core 4 soundtrack playlist and it's not

[@EriksBlue]

I loved Lost Kingdom 2, I wish I still had my copy.

[@squidlump]

“Mysterious jogo” ah, I see you are a man of culture

[@TheGladGolem]

The kind of man that remains unrustled when girls are watching.

[@cyruskeane]

It's also always cool to hear you talk about music in your videos (:

[@pinkfloyd36123]

you dont know how long ive waited for you to talk about evergrace's music lmao its unironically one of my favorite soundtracks

[@umrasangus]

So you like amateur music?? Me too.... A lot.

[@japser8147]

Don't worry, Souls difficulty is pretty overblown. They're punishing, sure, but the games are not that hard. You should check them out if you have the time!

[@Mintcar923]

I wanna check out Code Vein at some point.. As of now I only have Demons Souls, Bloodbourne and Salt & Sanctuary.. They are still mostly unplayed tho.. Got a lot of stuff and not enough time haha

[@KasumiRINA]

Problem with Souls games isn't that the fights are hard but that the world design is made to be annoying, like, the sparse check-points and stuff. The Taurus Demon is easy, but the long way to him so early in the game with ambushes and close quarter bridge stuff made me break a joystick back then... tying currency to experience points is in same vein... DS3 also made save scumming impossible in the PC version. xD

[@fakeid1151]

I have Otogi on my og xbox, and it's one of my favorite games of all time. Once you get used to the controls, they feel quite seamless, and everything about the game has such a bizarre vibe, it really does feel otherworldly. I know it's impossible to emulate at the moment, but Id honestly recommend buying an old xbox just for that one game, it's really surreal.

[@williamrogers4612]

Man I got enchanted arms from blockbuster as a kid and spent so much time trying to beat in the one week slot. Eventually having to cave and just buying the game a while after I had to return it, and this really brought back a lot of memories for me. Thanks for the nostalgia trip!

[@Ciara0]

3D DOT GAME HEROES GANG

[@RadioactiveMoth]

FromSoft only published that game.

[@dralakba-dusk31]

@@RadioactiveMoth still that game needs more love

[@BlinJe]

Reporting for duty, ma'am

[@LeeFarbstein]

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart! Fromsoft is so much more than "Those guys that made Souls games"! Personal top 3 are 1. Another Century's Episode 3 (JP only ) 2. Metal Wolf Chaos and 3. Otogi 2!

[@EternalReplicant]

Managed to find all four ACE games last time I was in Japan, been meaning to dive into them at some point, they looked really fun. Hopefully From does end up making a new mech game one of these days

[@johns8369]

Your video encouraged me to play through Ever Grace. It was SOOO GOOD. Thank you!!

[@strichtarn3228]

My dude, I first saw your God Hand video a year ago and got a real kick out of it, but left it at that. Now the algorithm gods have blessed me with reccs to your channel again and I AM LOVING IT

[@cgzepp]

From Software invented Vaporwave with their OSTs

[@gui2peg]

18:25 theres a boss in elden ring that looks exactly like this dude

[@thisidforsjit]

Well Today I retroactively learned you did the music for Umurangi Generation! Awesome video and awesome music mate! Keep up the great work!

[@lapistmacir1014]

I've always liked Lost Kindoms music mostly the first one the most. Like the music for Ruh Arok temple is amazing. Its eerie and beautiful.

[@dracomundo1498]

You Digimon World 3 is basically a from soft game basically maybe

[@mrgenomac9018]

am i the only person who genuinely liked the king's field series. i played them them all multiple times over the years and even played them all back-to-back once. each time was more fun than i remembered and my understanding of the lore and context of the series grew with it.

[@dralakba-dusk31]

Even the first one that was never realesed outside of Japan?

[@kurodutch7782]

this has to ve my favorite video of ThorHighHeels. I've seen it like 6 times by now. Such a great video.

[@CanalHardVi]

wow amazing work thor, im really glad i got some new games to my list after watching your video, i became a fan of modern from software as most have, playing darksouls etc, but im totally up to some old games, i just love how experimental most of them look, really like this kind of vibe!

[@JikuAraiguma]

"What game looks like this? SOUNDS like this?" Off the top of my head? Morrowind.

[@froufroudeluxe]

That’s not untrue, actually

[@Spermicidee]

I only just now showed up here and the ending statement about Fromsoft retrospectives all hyperfixating on the "buildup to Dark Souls" throughout FS' back catalogue instead of appreciating all of the weird and unique quirks each game brings to the table has won me over instantly, you got yourself another sub.

[@MineSlimeTV]

I adore your open genuine and almost open discussion that you give pushing into one after the other and combining many styles about it all the time and forming propper interesting and constant connections to one another! More to it your open points with your open manners o speaking both eloquent and specially common Its a magnificent outcome that creates so much interest to seeing both the bolding states and ideas of staying however so simple and so "similar" but with naturally expanding and improving in all forms while also experimenting in their music and ways its indeed fantastic to see then that they were oddly a peculiar case from the beginning all the way to becoming the highlight after being a niche case for so long Thank you for what you are doing and I am wishing soo much to somehow feel and try so much of this for how fantastic it appears I do wonder if they would ever turn back to their old works and push up their sleeves to begin working once again into something anew while moving forward! Thank you for this my friend!

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

"The Makoto Love Omelet, accompanied by the pinkest of pickles" You weren't joking.

[@Kullen64]

8:57 what’s that from? It’s something I’ve played a lot and even played recently but I can’t put my finger on it. Drakengard?

[@MiloKuroshiro]

Dark Souls is way less hard and punishing than you think man. You really should try it. You played harder and more punishing stuff on your channel already

[@Zayindjejfj]

This man would orgasm at Demons souls. The atmosphere and jank is perfect for him.

[@greenhowie]

Was going to say this... his tolerance in search of aesthetic is far greater than most DS players and he'd get a lot more out of it as well.

[@armorwolf7934]

Armored core is harder than dark souls

[@syntheticteapot]

The music you highlighted is so amazing. I love it.

[@keen96]

What a great retrospective, always such a pleasure watching your content.

[@bubbabubbs1134]

Oh come on, you ignored Shadow Tower: Abyss. Try it. It has fan translation for a reason.

[@TofuSG98]

I went in thinking it was like king's field, then out of nowhere, revolver, machine guns and bazooka. Really confused me lol.

[@prinselijkcoder]

I had issues with emulating and getting into King's Field, but I ended up playing all the way through Shadow Tower: Abyss. It seems like it's easy to pass up as a random sequel/spinoff but it was actually incredible. Great atmosphere and (somewhat) less clunky than the earlier games. Definitely recommend it.

[@AkimboWasTaken]

It's quite amazing. I don't know of any other game where I can simultaneously wield a guan dao and an AR-15 while wearing lamellar armor and a pair of Chuck Taylors. A shame about the poison area and the lack of a run button.

[@shadowmaksim]

I never knew just how familiar I was with FromSoftware until about a year or two ago. The first time I recall recognizing the brand name of FromSoftware was with "Demon's Souls" and the first "Dark Souls" when all my friends were gushing about them. From there, they were always just the "SoulsBorne" devs to me and it stayed that way for many years. But at some point, I found out that, wow, FromSoftware was behind the "Armored Core" series as well. I've played a couple entries and, yeah, they do actually share a lot of similar design philosophies despite being very different kinds of games. Some time after that, I finally decided to look up their development history and I was surprised to see that I recognized a number of games and series, many of which I've actually played when I was younger and enjoyed: "Armored Core" as already mentioned, "Lost Kingdom", "Evergrace", "Another Century Episode", "Enchanted Arms" most recently, etc. I was kind of blown away that FromSoftware had such a strong presence in my gaming history growing up and I never realized it. But really, I can't say I'm surprised. Ever since "Demon's Souls", "Dark Souls" definitely, that ended up being all they ever focused on making for many years. While I'm glad that they finally managed to find overwhelming success, it's disappointing to see how badly they've railroaded themselves as well. "SoulsBorne" is what they ended up being known for and that's the only thing their fanbase wants from them. Sucks for someone like me who doesn't like "SoulsBorne", like at all, and did enjoy many of their past games and series.

[@till5871]

Lovely video, all of these games hit my weirdass taste perfectly, now I've got some great new game recs and music tracks to engage with in the future

[@justsomejojo]

I've been playing Lost Kingdoms 2 recently and it's been a fascinating ride. Both of the Lost Kingdoms games feel so different from what I'm used to with Fromsoftware (I got to know the studio with Dark Souls) and it's really charming. And uniquely janky sometimes. Also still very engaging without being balls to the walls hard.

[@mariopartylover10]

I'm so happy to hear others enjoy Lost Kingdoms! Charm and jank are both words I'd use to describe most of Fromsoftware's old games, but LK have an especially soft spot in my heart. Except for LK1's final boss.

[@Camdavis11]

This is a masterpiece video. Thank you for pouring so much effort into this. I'm a lifelong From Soft fan and must say you nailed everything I love about their games. It's a shame they've relegated themselves to making Souls endlessly forever. Also yeah, Hoshino Kota and Frequency are amazing. But I'd never heard his Evergrace OST. Wild stuff.

[@asgoritolinasgoritolino7708]

Good news for you, Miysaki confirmed that DS3 was the last of the series.

[@Franz_Trashka]

what mysterious jogos these are

[@alexandreseidy3577]

que misteriosos games esses são

[@symmon_silver646]

Suddenly Brasileiro

[@MisterConscio]

@@symmon_silver646 de repente brazilian

[@Trilo-Kh2D]

i don't know how to continuar but eu gosto das vibes

[@JoaoVictor-sr2mr]

Indeed mysterious, even weird, but no one can deny that these games' vibes are do balacobaco.

[@Nekucloud]

Video game retrospectives are truly amazing. It's fun to look back at developer's older titles and enjoy them even to this day. I also love how video games can inspire creativity as well as nostalgia. video games with narratives inspired me to want to create my own stories, and I hope to turn some of those stories into games someday. This is a wonderful video, thanks Thor.😊

[@Milpy]

Really enjoyed the video! I do wish you had talked more about Chromehounds because I loved that game, but unfortunately it was a mostly online PvP experience and the servers were shut down forever ago. It had a big focus on slower, more tactical gameplay and a persistent online mode called Neroimus War It had cool things like needing to secure communication towers to be able to talk to your team, which could re-secured by the other team to limit your communication range while increasing theirs. There were three different countries that fought over territories. You chose a country at the start of the campaign and fought other country's teams for control of maps and capital cities. The war would end after one country controlled the entire map, or after two months passed, then it would start over again. It was a really unique game that I really miss. I wish From would make another one, but it'll never happen. Also I picked up Umurangi Generation and plan on checking it out soon!

[@MarcosMastroianni]

Evergrace is a masterpiece

[@jbeavis100]

A really great game I think you might like is Frame Gride, it's a Dreamcast exclusive by FromSoft and it's a fantasy-mech game with magic and traditional swords and shields, it's very JP. Original JP onry but it's been 100% fan-translated. has a fairly fun multiplayer I've managed to trick friends into playing with me.

[@solisinvictus4238]

Ha! I liked for your profile picture. Also I'll have to check out your suggestion

[@ExatedWarrior]

What I found so funny about that horror game was that the slow speed made you look so calm even though I could tell you were nopeing out of there.

[@nplacker]

I think this was the first vid I saw from you. Been almost a year now and have binged most of your shit. Keep up the good work my dude

[@reespectrum]

Is nobody going to talk about the Vanguard from Demon's Souls being an asset flip of an enemy from Enchanted Arms?

[@kribblton]

No, because it isn't an asset flip. It's just reused assetes from a game THEY OWN.

[@JoroJojoro]

FromSoftware struck pure gold with the Souls series, and so people just kept wanting more and more of that gold. These early FromSoftware games are crusty as fuck, but I really like this type of crust, and I want more of it.

[@geraq0]

It took me about 30 minutes of intense mental work and I almost went crazy but I finally could recognize the song that plays at 32:02 as the song from the second stage of Super Mario Land 1 for Game Boy. Now I can go to sleep. Anyway, awesome video man

[@sig550a5]

Great video and retrospective on FromSoft! I picked up Echo night 1,2 and Beyond about 3 years back then I bought Kuon as well all from when I started watching your videos from 2016 on wards. I enjoyed them tremendously, clunky and obtuse yes, but the story telling, atmosphere were awesome. Really takes you back to an era when games were made more to tell a story and not for the sake of investors and shareholders goals. Keep up the great videos!

[@orcwave]

Evergrace looks like Dark Cloud

[@alertArchitect]

One thing you really talked about that I feel really shows how FromSoft shows their software programmer roots is the way they handle sequels, though you didn't touch on that specifically. Looking at their games, especially before they were forced into their "Souls games ONLY" corner by shitty gamers, their approach to sequels feels like each sequel is the next version of the software, though with a much more... pre-internet era approach to updated software than modern software takes. Namely, that being each new game being the next edition of the software, and thus a continuation of what you already know. Look back at old DOS or early Windows productivity programs, like older word processors and spreadsheet software, and you'll see what I mean. Each separate release is its own version of the software, and while version 2.0 is the newer version, it'll more than likely look and run very similarly to 1.0, especially if the given software is running off of the same building blocks and had the same amount of time between releases as the early King's Field games did. And while that approach to game sequels was probably a lot more common back when games were primarily made in the free time of programmers, such as the early text-based adventure games like the original Zork games, I like that overall FromSoft has kept that kind of approach to their sequels. It makes it so that you can look at one of their games in a series, say "I know how those games play," and jump into them without needing to look up the differences between the specific entries. Dark Souls 3? Well, it's in the Dark Souls series, and I liked 1, so that means I'll more than likely like 3 with a very similar gameplay and storytelling style, with the added bonus of better graphics and updated mechanics to be more balanced and fair compared to 1. King's Field 3? Overall, a very similar game to 1, so if you liked that one you'll more than likely enjoy 3. Yeah, it's probably not the best way to add more content to a series in the modern gaming era, but back when King's Field was one of their biggest series? It made sense. In the end, FromSoft's way of handling sequels feels like how a software company would handle different versions of their software back in the day, and given FromSoft's background, it really makes sense. Honestly, FromSoft probably has one of the purer approaches to sequels than other game studios, because it feels like an updated version of the same game instead of having major changes between mainline entries that are unneeded and unnecessary, and really explains why when they change something they feel is major enough it becomes an entirely different series. Take Dark Souls, add in the rally mechanic and a bigger focus on parrying instead of i-frame dodges? Bloodborne. Take Dark Souls, give the enemies stamina meters you have to whittle down for efficient combat, add in a bigger focus on the avoidance of attacks and fights to encourage stealth, and add movement mechanics that actually feel good to use? Sekiro.

[@birdineye]

nice as usual keep up the good work man :) hope to see vid on kuon someday