Was it Good? - Eternal Ring

[@name_redunded]

This game looks like proof of concept for the ancient city. They saw what worked and what didn't with the new PS2 technology and made a great game after

[@thombias]

It's easy to see Eternal Ring is a prototype for KF4 fleshed out as a full game and you can tell they were still working with the technology powering the PS1 King's Field games, because all the levels are still built in a grid and mechanically not much has happened between ER and KF3. It's only really the graphics and performance that improved. I mean heck, even the controls remained unchanged. They built upon Eternal Ring and scrapped everything that didn't work or belonged in KF4.

[@BloodyArchangelus]

Yes. typical fromsoft

[@Karanagi]

From Software's iteration on the same concept clearly payed off. KF4 held up very well.

[@RedstoNeman0]

I was thinking the same, I hope josh plays it and then tries shadow tower abyss with all the weirdness of that game lol

[@endless3cho]

I never watched anything from this creator before yet I just spent over an hour watching a video about a game I'd never played. This was truly well done.

[@cvernon5256]

Personally, he's one of my favorite creatures on here. There's another series of his that I watch if and on cake Worst MMO Ever where he explored and explains a bunch of them. He does good work and the general technical detail, amiability, and enjoyment present makes them good to listen to, if not watch

[@lektik2941]

Same! 🤣

[@wiseguise5960]

Josh is just amazing with his narration and writing. I easily watch his 1hr+ long videos, but I also do like longer form content/videos in general.

[@BierBart12]

That's why long video essays about games I've never played have become one of my favourite things these past years. When someone has the energy to make stuff like this, it's almost always done with passion Once it was no longer required by school or anything, It's become kinda fun to do intense research and write up something long for me as well. It's a great way to explore topics you were never interested in before, once you get into it.

[@polboygiraffetamer6654]

​@@BierBart12 There's something exquisite about learning about an obscure game. I see the PS2 is a goldmine for games like that. And this video introduced me to this new hobby of mine.

[@Konpekikaminari]

I have to hand it to Soulus's child VA, before the line "This... this feeling... Sad..." he absolutely _nailed_ that concerned confusion of a child first encountering death It was honestly heart wrenching

[@DIEGhostfish]

Yeah. It made me tear up. But a young relative just realized our grandma is dying soooo that may be influencing me.

[@zedxcu]

Honestly I really like the sort of small implicit character development at the end, Cain just chilling with Solas and all that. We need more final bosses that mature and turn into friends in games

[@beastwarsFTW]

Solas can be forgiven because he was already imprisoned for his crimes and ironically when he gets out not only does he learn what they wanted but he also learned why he needed to be imprisoned to begin with.

[@drewbaby1488]

I had a blast with this game as a kid and remember all the frustrations as well. This game should definitely be remade.

[@eXcaligore]

There is a strange lack of detail in some places and a great amount in others like the man actually opening the letter in the beginning. Overall it shows what fromsoftware's ambitions we're back then and seeing them getting it right with the newer titles is amazing. I replay freelancer a 2003 flying space shooter game every year as a nostalgia vibe. I would be interested in seeing what you think of it if you're interested

[@Skenjin]

I loved the Defenders game on the PS2 that was a 3D ship combat game against alien insect things with some tower defense sections.

[@arkadyromanov7803]

Give Everspace 2 a try.

[@mrpjfresh1810]

Wow. Freelancer. Talk about a blast from the past! And what a voice cast on that game as well! Had almost forgotten all about it. Good call.

[@g76agi]

Oh freelancer was very good, my dad showed it to me when i was a kid and it was pretty fun

[@tiberiusbrain]

Freelancer was awesome. Its why i love elite dangerous even more (no, im not buying into star citizen for now)

[@dracogaming13]

Something about the final boss being a child with godlike powers who acts like a kid is absolutely terrifying

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

An Ur-Child, if you will.

[@-Monad-]

Basically the plot of Dragon Ball Super

[@jeanfigueroa6235]

@@-Monad- Also applies to Buu, I guess?

[@Nwoknu]

It reminded me of Kefka from Final Fantasy 6

[@ryanbauer3680]

"And really, there is nothing more innocent and cruel than a child." -Jet Black, Cowboy Bebop

[@jeremyabbott4537]

I am pretty sure the pendant the one guy has is referenced in Dark Souls, with the pendant you can pick as your starting gift. It just acts as a reminder of your humanity and past, to not lose your mind and self, and has no special powers. And of course the Eternal Sword reminds me of the Moonlight Sword which is in SO MANY Fromsoft games.

[@BigStankyFish]

If that's true then The Moonlight Greatsword has been part of FromSoft lore for 2 decades! Awesome.

[@33link333]

@@BigStankyFish The Sword of Moonlight was in the very first King's Field, FromSoft's very first game from 1994.

[@kakkacarmenelectra7229]

Also the guys who drops the eternal sword looks so much like a dark wraith!

[@Wolfpaxrunning]

​@@BigStankyFishthe moonlight sword is in every armored core as well. It's been a from soft staple since their first title kings field

[@TwoSpark55]

​ In the new one? 👀 or all their AC games?

[@alexlabelle3049]

I'm married to probably the only person who counts this as one of their absolute favorite games but I'm not kidding when I say my wife has played through multiple copies of this game and cried happy tears when we found it on the PS4 store. I've never seen anyone else actually even talk about it (even when the PS2 first came out) so seeing it pop up here was almost surreal.

[@kvltizt]

It’s a great game!

[@kensloth]

Didn't know it was available on PSN until I just read this... Thanks!!

[@jotun.616]

Aww its sweet it caused happy tears.

[@SuperSecretAgentNein]

There’s a (in my humble opinion) very good Dark Souls centric podcast Bonfireside Chat that does at least one pretty long episode on Eternal Ring you might be interested in. Their newer episodes are behind a paywall but I’m PRETTY sure their eternal ring episode is free?

[@mfallen6894]

@@SuperSecretAgentNein That's a good podcast that I totally forgot existed! Need to check it out again

[@loopyloon5401]

For some reason, when I saw Soulus mulling over Lyla's death, I suddenly imagined the game with better voice acting, I thought about how Soulus would sound if he was genuinely upset at learning what mortality was.

[@treytotreys917]

Oh my God you did Eternal Ring. This was one of first ps2 games. Back when I first got my ps2 I didn't have a memory card for around a month, so I left my ps2 on while I was at school and beat the game without ever turning it off. Such nostalgia

[@thesmugargonian5357]

It’s a wonder you didn’t start a fire big enough to take down the entirety of Mongolia by doing that

[@boobah5643]

Considering that means death = restart, it's kind of impressive.

[@treytotreys917]

@@boobah5643 I died. A lot. lol

[@smosby5]

Lol I did the same thing when I first got my PS2 and Kingdom Hearts

[@slayedbyquilegaming]

Lol i did this for zelda wind waker. My GameCube had my back!

[@zephyr8072]

That opening voice acting is amazing. It manages to sound exactly like a rudimentary text to speech program.

[@FreedomIII]

Right!? I literally second-guessed whether I was hearing a human or not for like 10 seconds (≧∀≦)

[@redpyre]

I remember when I was a kid, I was very creeped out by Adult Soulus for the ten seconds he's on screen. My dad was also unimpressed by the ending screen text, rolling his eyes and sarcastically saying "GEE, I wonder who THAT COULD BE" Still, this made me nostalgic for how fantasy rpgs used to be watching it

[@starmanda88]

Your dad rules 😂😂😂

[@dustgraystone9448]

Your dad doesn't sound fun, lol.

[@BigStankyFish]

39:00 Probably the coolest explanation for a plain enemy design and now makes me appreciate geometric ememies a lot more. Eternal Ring seems like the type of game that has the most amazing potential. It could've come out in recent years, even if it wasn't as fleshed out but added what was recommended and better graphics and animations and genuinely it would be a good modern game.

[@Beriorn]

Eternal Ring, ooooh Eternal Ring.

[@greylithwolf]

sir gideon ofnir THE MOST KNOWLEDGABLE!!

[@aidenpearce6624]

Finger but hole!

[@NieroshaiTheSable]

@@greylithwolf The loathsome dung eater!

[@DocFranklinStone]

HOLY SHIT! THIS IS THE GAME THAT'S HAUNTED MY DREAMS FOR YEARS. YES! FINALLY, I REMEMBER IT! THANK YOU! now to watch the video❤

[@cuddlequeen3225]

I like that you breakdown everything including controls, UI, and all that. I appreocate knowing how that effects the experience without having to play it myself.

[@MiBrCo4177]

Reminds me of two highly underrated games on the PS2 which were extermination and EOE Eve of Extinction. Definitely worth checking out both of them.

[@brotbrotsen1100]

The ps2 is a goldmine for hidden gems. You stumble upon something cool you never heard of all the time. Just the other day i found a action game starring a Japanese pop star, geckt or something, and it's actually fun as hell

[@Kokkaku7]

About the day/night cycle. I vaguely remember the time of day effecting your rings in some way. It's just never explained well and really hard to notice. I vaguely remember was certain healing rings healing more at night? Also, fatal water is a staple of old Fromsoft games, rule of thumb, if the water is high enough to wade through it will kill you. One last thing, Eternal Ring did have fall damage but it wasn't anywhere near as punishing as you described, when you tested it in the video you landed in some nasty fatal water, thats what killed you. Amazing video as always Quick edit, the time of day also plays into a larger calendar system. Different elements are boosted on different days, I nearly forgot about that. Last edit I swear. Eternal Ring was a rushed game. The game was pushed out so the team could finish work on Kings Field 4 which ended up coming out a year later.

[@xxXXRAPXXxx]

As a Gamer avoiding water is my second nature.

[@ClanCrusher]

1:05:38 "The mechanics of a decent game are there. What the game lacks is any way for a player to understand them in game." The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[@esssss8415]

I would say it’s the opposite now. Easy to understand, but not enough interesting mechanics anymore.

[@thombias]

​@@esssss8415 Yeah exactly, i so much agree with this sentiment. I had such a good time with King's Field from 1995 for PS1. The game doesn't explain anything to you and i had a blast trying to figure out everything within this janky early 3D metroidvania dungeon crawler.

[@night1952]

@@esssss8415 I assume he was refering to modern From games since they still have cryptic mechanics.

[@esssss8415]

@@night1952 They’ve gotten blatantly more simple though. Compare Elden ring and Dark Souls 3 to any older souls games, or kings field and they are much simpler.

[@night1952]

@@esssss8415 I completely disagree.

[@CKSeams]

"Attacking an enemy's source, not the enemy itself" *cries in Bed of Chaos*

[@1Kapuchu100]

For every good idea, there is a bad execution of that idea xD

[@Salmacream]

@@1Kapuchu100 Bed of chaos was always one of the more fun fights for me. I liked that I was punished a ton with a lot of running, the annoying enemies and low flasks to get back to the boss.

[@Mantosasto]

Those damn enemies in the poison DS2 dlc ;_;

[@1un4cy]

"Having a snowy tundra connected to a massive storm tower by a tunnel would be silly so they teleport you around" >Dark Souls 2: you climb up to the top of a poisoned windmill, then take an elevator UP to the fiery depths of the Iron Keep

[@Rufknsrsrnw]

Wow, I've had vague memories of having played this game rattling around in my head for the last 15 odd years, the stab and the gems and the not knowing where the hell I was going the only things I remembered for certain. Thank you so much for letting me lay this game to rest in my head, and for playing it to completion so I don't have to. Keep up the good work sir!

[@gaigeriel]

Several years back I went and played every kings field and eternal ring. Was such a fun experience seeing the building blocks of what would eventually become my favorite game series ever. The aesthetics and music of Kings Field & Eternal Ring are so amazing to me

[@TheSixthChildEva04]

Okay, I can't be the only one who thought this. I'm only a minute and a half in and everything about this video; your accent, cadence of speech, style of video, even the TITLE, all remind me of Totalbiscuit and his "WTF is...?" video series. Keep up the good work!

[@SorenKisamora]

Man with Eternal Ring knocked out, if Josh does Evergrace after this he'll complete my list of "Games i played alot as a Tween and never understood how to play or complete".

[@33link333]

Evergrace is another Fromsoft game as well.

[@proggz39]

The music in Eternal Ring is really good and honestly one of the best things about it

[@BirdBobbyG]

this series is my favorite thing on youtube thank you for the free content, your the reason i got premium. and i hate seeing all the people doing "essay" videos and having nothing to say or doing them with no care/ quality. your setting the standard for these types of videos.

[@Skenjin]

Too many games would have had the "big bad" just get a second phase after experiencing loss for the first time, instead of growing as part of the experience.

[@banaman7746]

I guess the real prize was the final boss we befriend along the way?

[@wazzu4488]

Good thing we have Gabriel.

[@bradleycalkins394]

If only they had portrayed Soulus' transformation in a way that didn't imply a second phase.

[@tomascarrion4071]

Idk if anyone has told you yet, but great audio quality in this vid. You've improved hella significantly over the years and it shows and sounds. Keep it up.

[@Buhllake]

The entire premise of this game and its story are so cool. It feels very very inspired from the twilight zone “it’s a good life” one of my favorite episodes but it could just be a coincidence.

[@gubjorgm.2259]

When the god lost Layla and finally understood what she had been teaching him, I got goosebumps and that scene alone makes me want to play the game.

[@Michas333]

it's actually incredibly impressive how much from software has improved since this game.

[@Momotarou0311]

The red and blue thing for increase and decrease is not due to the time I think. In japan red is attributed to something positive and blue to negative. Its a cultural thing not necessarily time related. Even modern japanese games do this a lot. One example I can think of is the gacha game touken ranbu where you get a message in red if your postition is advantageous and blue if not.

[@howlingwolf317]

Pokémon games are also a well-known example of this. From HGSS onwards they finally added a visual indicator of the stats which are affected by nature in the form of red and blue text. However, they chose to use red text for the increased stat and blue text for the decreased stat. For the entirety of my Heart Gold playthrough I assumed it was the opposite and only realized in Gen V (to my horror) that I had been using the awful natures for my Pokémon, not the good ones.

[@KawaiiStars]

nier reincarnation has this too, if you increase stats the new ones are red, if they're gonna decrease they show in blue, and that's a very new game

[@michaelcalvin42]

It might be better if game devs standardized on red vs. green instead. Everyone across the entire world understands that green is go and red is stop due to traffic signals, so it's not difficult to figure out that green is good and red is bad from a gameplay perspective. (And if devs are worried about color blindness, shades of green and red that are visually distinct can be chosen to accommodate the most common forms of red-green color blindness.)

[@Eta_Hoyimi]

@@michaelcalvin42 Late reply but you're looking at it through a eurocentric lens. Everyone doesn't understand that universally; Traffic signals in japan actually have blue lights in lieu of green lol so it's a lot deeper ingrained than folks realize in the west to do that.

[@michaelcalvin42]

​@@Eta_Hoyimi Actually, it's kind of a mix. Because Japanese historically (actually a long, long time before traffic lights existed) did not have a word for green, the word for blue (ao) can also mean green. As a result of this historic linguistic quirk, their older traffic lights tend to be blue (although their more modern LED ones tend to be standard green traffic lights.) I don't think I've ever seen a blue traffic light in any anime I've ever watched, so I suspect green lights are more common these days (at least in the public subconscious.) Which does tend to support my idea.

[@halldak1119]

I had this game. It was my favorite among the lot of games my parents had picked up, and I laud it as often as I can. It wasn't flawless, but overall it was highly enjoyable. Glad to see someone talking about it! Edit after viewing: You kept the weakest rings and never upgraded spells? Bold choice, bravo, only a madman would have done that. A lot of your difficulty concerns ease away if you're using properly powered rings instead of the basic fireball and Ice needle ones. Enemies also have elemental weaknesses, which make a lot of fights nowhere near as hard.

[@swearingbear3183]

Watching you play obscure games I never played as a kid and having you complete the story knowing I'll probably never have time or get the chance to do it myself. Your doing a great service ;)

[@hemming87]

This is so strange, I was at CEX today and saw a copy of this on the shelf. Had never heard of it so had a look and saw it was FromSoft and considered picking it up before leaving it be, then you end up putting this out a few hours later!

[@gabbagoo9774]

If it's $25 USD (Or equivalent) it's worth picking up if it's CIB ($15 without the manual though)

[@hemming87]

@@gabbagoo9774 Really? It was £3.00 CIB, might have to get back there quick!

[@gabbagoo9774]

@@hemming87 If you can, I'd suggest it! It's not blowing up in price like most of the other FROMSoft games, probably because it's not super good. But if you're trying to collect FROMSoft games similar to Dark Souls (Like I am) it's a boon!

[@iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii4222]

>Have you seen Joe in the last couple of years?< "Yeah, he's now JUST a fire dragon." >Ahh, Okay.< Nice story mark.

[@Plasmacat1]

You are a great narrator, for the speed you speak it's impressive you manage to keep the viewer focused and take us through all the journey of the game. It's crazy a lot of those ideas have been evolved into the Souls games we know today. That final boss baby is so silly and unnerving.

[@abelunseen739]

this is truly the eternal ring of king’s field 2

[@cybercop0083]

Hear hear!

[@Kmwildride]

I forgot this game was even a thing. My PS2 game case was full of folded up A4 paper of my hand drawn maps and ring crating notes, good times!

[@quinnmarchese6313]

"perfectly wrong" is a fantastic way to describe so many game worlds of all kinds. on one end, you've got games of the modern day, so minutely detailed and beautifully realized with textures and models, but otherwise betray the lifelike atmosphere with static worlds or lacking interactivity--on the opposite 3D end, you've got the poorly textured, overly angular models of the PSX/N64 era that can somehow still represent a totally vivid world and even the uncanny imperfections of versions of that world. Think about Majora's Mask vs Ocarina of Time, where MM was quite literally basically an asset flip of OoT but with even the most tiny of renderable details made sure that it always felt "off" compared to OoT, while OoT still manages to feel like a vivid, "real" world.

[@Robocopnik]

That snow area is like some kind of cold, dark, and very gentle place, it seems to be a goodly home for that NPC.

[@Kaio_Strain]

I had (still have) a physical ps2 copy of this game. me and my dad had spent lots of time tackling its challenges. I never finished it as a kid, but I watched my dad play it and was excited to finally see the final boss (even though I was too young to understand the plot or characters). never saw the ending however or knew the full story until I saw this video years later. So glad to get closure on this game, and learn the cool tidbits about Fromsofts history and how it still uses items and other things in their games to this day! Thanks for the awesome video! Edit: I still love the first cave theme to this day, and its one of my most nostalgic game tunes of all time!

[@SilverStarSong7]

i always love people talking about this old game from my childhood

[@StyryderX]

Some of the environments seems to be reworked into Dark Souls 1 too; the bricked hall reminds me of Gargoyle tower, the sleeping Dragon is more or less the other shortcut to Blight-town, every NPC you meet (eventually) dies, etc.

[@sathic609]

I loved this game as a kid. I used to experiment crafting rings and exploring everything.

[@BlackMage969]

I own a copy of this game on the PS2 to this day, It's odd but i remember almost nothing at all but i do know i beat it completely because i loaded up a save that was at the end of the game with my old memory card.

[@ddgnp1057]

The PS2 on PS4 releases do give you the manual on the game's dropdown tab. It's a bit of a pain if you're looking back and forth though so you might as well use a guide. Also thank you for confirming that I was going the right way into the tree area the last time I played this.

[@lazersword66]

Got this in a pile of free bargain bin games when I was a kid. I stopped after getting to the giant tree but this video made me want to give it another go on pcsx2. Mapping the movement and camera to the sticks made it way more playable and I'm having a good time with it.

[@javo_Non_Used]

In some places from Asia traffic lights' red and green color is used invertedly. Maybe thats why back then this game had these colors for items.

[@ronnispolski]

Thanks for reminding me of Total Biscuit. Genuine compliment and appreciation

[@slickstyles9433]

i still have this game and was thinking about it and how no one talks about it.. GREAT VIDEO... I never got out of the first cave with water, i still remember vividly. game is in my garage somewhere lol

[@Seb_Falkor]

Ahh eternal ring. The best fromsoft game ending in ring. I was actually hoping to see some reference to this game in Elden Ring, but it doesn’t

[@_Tzer]

gold seed kinda also the dragon spells in elden ring feel really familiar

[@NotJaybo]

I can remember playing this as a kid and getting stuck so early but always trying as it seems cooled. My first experience of this type of game.

[@Ivotas]

Fantastic video as always. Is there any chance you would ever do a 'Was it Good?' on Vagrant Story? I really need an objective analysis like yours to finally make me understand if this awesome game does in fact have a couple of not so well implemented mechanics or if I'm just being to harsh on it. Having played this game last year for the first time and loving it while being frustrated at said mechanics I constanly thought about how much I hope to find it on your chanel at some point. Just letting it out here in case you read this. Good day mate.^^

[@Biouke]

Do you mean things like random upgrades when leveling up? Because that's the only really bad design choice I see there and it's a result of the general hardcore dungeon crawler design of Vagrant Story. I love this game but damn, is it needlessly hard and grindy :p

[@Ivotas]

@@Biouke I was talking about the entire convoluted weapon leveling system which is absolutely counter intuitive and needlessly elaborate. I do appreciate the "figure it out yourself" approach but this game takes it far too much to the extreme that it just ruins all the other phenomenal things the game does right.

[@Biouke]

@@Ivotas Oh, THIS needlessly convoluted and grindy system. There are so many in this game :p Yet as I said I don't see it as bad; it's a controversial but deliberate design choice and at least it's not RNG dependent.

[@Ivotas]

@@Biouke I envy you that you can live with it. For me it was a game breaking design choice as I could not proceed with my playthrough because even after checking guides I don't know what I could change in order to proceed. I'd have no problems with it if I just suck at the game, but not being able to make any progress because the mechanics are too convoluted to make any sense how to progress is just bad IMO.

[@Biouke]

@@Ivotas Well if it can help you, the basic things to get with the weapons/armours are damage type and affinities. Affinity is simple, as you fight enemies your equipment gets stronger against that enemy type and weaker against others. You can grind this to specialise your equipment for fighting specific enemies. Then you have damage type, slash/pierce/blunt which are more or less effective depending on your enemies' "armour" type. As a concrete example, let's say you're going through the abandoned mines. You're mainly going to fight skeletons and zombies, so ideally you will need two weapons with high undead affinity, a blunt one for skellies and a sharp one for zombies. If you have an undead-slaying lance, you can reforge it into a mace or blade; if you have a blunt or slashing weapon with rather neutral affinities, just go farm some undeads with it near a save room and you should be good to go. Now just pray you don't miss a save point before the boss and light a candle to RNGesus to get a decent stat increase when you gain levels (typing that really makes me eager to see this game covered by Josh to see him suffer) . And don't worry, as much as I like this game I still haven't finished it despite buying it on release. Every year or so I try and end up rage-quitting after losing 2 hours of progress being one-shot by an unexpected inescapable mid-boss fight XD But that's in part because I forget to grind and to not wander too far until I'm sure I can handle whatever is coming.

[@sushiifoxx]

I played this last year after watching this video, and it was absolutely fantastic. currently playing kf4 as I listen to it all over again ❤

[@12fishcake]

Never beat this game as a kid, too hard for me at the time but I played the hell out of the first couple chapters. The ring crafting mechanic is legit still one of the coolest systems, just needs a bit more clarity and it would be amazing. Despite this games flaws and lack of success compared to other fromsoft games, there's actually a ton of good concepts here. I agree it feels kinda like a beta or early access, but a fully fleshed out modernised take would actually make such a good game. Also the concept of a godlike entity with the mind of a toddler is actually such a good concept for a major threat/antagonist. Rather than the usual fantasy "well this guys bad because he's evil so he does bad stuff" the logic here is that the... baby thing... simply has such a young mind it doesn't comprehend morals or consequence, cannot be reasoned with or properly understood. So it's essentially lashing out and having a strop, like a toddler does except it has godlike powers. Actually justifies why this all-powerful thing is dangerous without just going "well, it's evil so..."

[@superrugby2]

I've really grown to love these videos

[@YTseen21]

I played this game till the giant hollow tree then got stuck, didn't know where to go or what to do, completed the forest area as well, pain stackenly. This video gave me the courage to boot it on my ps2.

[@AkuTenshiiZero]

This game has always stuck in my memory, but I never actually played it or saw any gameplay until recently. Why? Because I used to be subscribed to _Tips & Tricks_ magazine, and one of their issues near the launch of the PS2 featured a detailed guide on how to craft every ring in the game. And at the time, I didn't even own a PS2 or much for games in general, so I could only read through the issues of _Tips & Tricks_ that I had over and over. In doing so, this game in particular was ingrained into my memory forever.

[@occamsrazor3128]

I remember buying this the day i got my ps2 i also remember not having a single clue what to do or where to go but yet i sank many many hours into it the nostalgia is strong with this one!!

[@undying3132]

59:54 I choose to believe that FromSoft ran out of time so they gave him a short and sweet conclusion. They didnt have time to program anything for the pendant, otherwise they would have killed him off so you can pick up and use the pendant for some plot.

[@taiwanisacountry]

"Please get up" that really got to me man. Shit man, that really got me. An almost omnipotent psychotic baby as the BBG, that is really a great idea if you ask me. But daumn, please get up.... Man.

[@DukeOfJam7591]

I have a sleep Playlist of your videos and I had to remove this one because the baby at the end saying "lyla get up" would wake me up in the most creepy way

[@Astro_Vagabond]

Even the concept of humans turning into dragons dates back to this game. Jesus.

[@polboygiraffetamer6654]

I'm a Dark Souls fan and this game, or particularly this review, intrigues me.

[@kfbfbkfkofgofkfl]

The boss before the final boss (The captain) represents the symbol of medicine, which is kind of ironic becouse he actually kills lyla and let you open to interpretation.

[@Tanekoshima]

FromSoft year 2000: Ooohhh Eternal Ring... FromSoft year 2022: Ooohhh Elden Ring...

[@SuperKendoman]

36:45 The red stick dude is a reused enemy 10 years later, because this guy is in Dark Souls 2. He'll ambush you in the upper levels of the windmill after you get past the poison mines at Earthen Peak. He likes to flip about and slice at you, if you aren't aware of your surroundings, you can get attacked by 2 at the same time as they drop from the ceiling or behind pillars

[@-Sunny--]

Even though I'm not interested in these things, your well-executed video made me watch it all! Keep up...

[@babylonxface]

Thank you so much for this. Eternal ring was the first game we got when we got a ps2 and it was so godawful but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Finally the ending of the game gave me the closure I needed.

[@MIKlLLA]

I had this game when I was maybe seven or eight. I used to be spooked easily so I actually was too scared to get past the very first cave; one of my cousins helped me progress on time and I got to the first town with the guy guarding the door. It always stuck with me for some reason, which is why I am watching this video now. I remembered it was a FromSoft game, and I really liked the theme. Now playing Elden Ring in 2022 and 2023 as well as being a fan of Soulsborne in general; FromSoft has been a big influence on me throughout my life

[@redmagelala]

I'm going to buy this game on the PS4 because this looks so cool, thank you very much for showing us this, Josh.

[@Lucitaur]

REALLY hope FROM will make another 1st person game in the spirit of King's Field/Shadow Tower/Eternal Ring. A 1st person game like that from them could be a real breath of fresh air, and even better if they try to tie in an awesome Co-Op to it (no PvP).

[@Umbra_Nocturnus]

I remember playing this! I got that poison-orb from 35:29 fairly early on. With enough *Devotion to Green*, it onehits trashmobs, dragons, yourself AND the final boss. Literally the most destructive thing I got in the game.

[@SeanPS]

I forgot the joy I used to experience as a child, digesting a brand new game manual in the back seat of the car on the ride home from EB games...

[@indiana13ones7]

one of those games I adore, and agree with this vid 100%

[@rosshardy5359]

I love this video series, it tickles my autism brain in just the right place and you do such a good job breaking down the intentions of the developers and how design works to engage the player - please don't ever stop making great content like this

[@MrMin316]

You missed a door on the other side of the island, a door of light and dark . A secret cave if you walk around the edge were you first arrive , instead of going to the first cave, follow the shore line around you will find the secret cave . But you'll need a ring made of light and dark gems to open the door and you'll find level 5 dragon gems.

[@lenzp4133]

man, back in the day people really had ideas..this actually had an fulfilling story arc

[@blackbird7781]

Wait till you learn about most rpgs ever

[@michaelrondon5472]

@@blackbird7781 some rpgs ever

[@blackbird7781]

@@michaelrondon5472 most. Most rpgs are mostly focused on the stories. If you say otherwise then you are lying to yourself and acting like a boomer

[@AClownsWorld]

people still have amazing ideas, the problem is the cooperate methodology doesn't not allow creative freedom as everything has to go through a focus group gets refined the exxces have issues with this theme and want it made more "accessibly". gaming will return to another golden era but it will be grass roots style resurgence now that the people has access to tools that do all the heavy lifting.

[@pell9538]

@@AClownsWorld Yeah the future of innovative and creative ideas lies in the hands of Indie developers now. I do very much enjoy aaa games but that kind of experimentation is just too risky for big name studios which is unfortunate.

[@PAPA_CEO_PUMA]

Mathew D Ross the Third is my new favorite fromsoft character. What a goofy interaction.

[@LiveLNXgaming]

Put these foolish ambitions to rest!

[@JankShot]

watching these videos make me wish we would see more games like this pop up in this day and age. i dont want grand adventures, grand super in depth stories, nor do i want complicated games. sure, i can enjoy a game like path of exile for years, but i also really like these styles of games. theyre simple. they have cool ideas, and the simplicity of their stories can often times make them much more impactful and interesting than a lot of the other things we see now, and i think thats because theyre simple. by being simple, theyre already much more unique than what we typically see these days. is this game great? no, probably not for most people. but it has cool ideas. and cool ideas in a bad game can still serve to help create better games in the future. id love to see a game take inspiration from this game, but follow a similar style still. if anyone knows of some lesser known games like this that are similar, please let me know if you happen to be watching this long after the date of the video. this was a great video also, his face in that cutscene at the end when he grew up was uncanny and it genuinely made me uncomfortable seeing it. great touch for a character like that

[@Spartan8278]

Wow, this game has a really compelling style. I love the graphical style of PS2 era games. This one in particular looks so smooth & comfortable. I miss games being made to look like this. More whimsical & generally just relaxing to look at.

[@HQ_Default]

I came back to this video after watching Majuular's retrospective on the King's Field games. And having seen both, it feels really clear to me that they were mostly making this game to learn the PS2 hardware before they tackled King's Field 4. It was arguably their flagship franchise at the time, so it makes sense that they wanted to wait and make sure they could do it justice. Speaking of which, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on King's Field 4 in particular, unless you prefer to always start with the first game for whatever series you're discussing.

[@Nine-ball777]

You should cover Shadow Tower Abyss. It's a really good example of FROM's design iteration process, as well as a few things I won't spoil that have made it into almost all future FROM SOFTWARE games.

[@TAREEBITHETERRIBLE]

*ETERNAL RING BECAME ELDEN RING*

[@thex6992]

If you think about it, both final bosses in these games are kind of similar and there is no titular ring to be found, only the product of a god that's trapped. It almost Makes sense that the composer of eternal ring also made the elden ring theme/radagons theme/marikas shaman village theme

[@Kevin-du5vf]

Actually the best series on youtube

[@RemitheDreamfox]

this is a fantastic video thank you

[@Palemagpie]

The music and the animation style really reminds me of a less cartoony dark cloud.

[@thatanonwholurksmoar7386]

Funny enough I still have that game with me. What a throwback

[@schmecklez]

never knew of this game, really cool to see how much of this game is succeeded by later games

[@doomraven0]

I have never even heard of this game and i worked in a video game store when the PS2 launched. Weird.

[@ShadesApeDJansu]

【Sunglasses Finnish Pirates】I am amazed as this and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver game you covered has a player interested enough to make a map for himself & to share it with the world. These kind of people shine light upon the world, i take this seriously as i & my BFF are christian Light Bringers and so just doing such a taxing job for "no reward" other than you got yourself a map & to help others with it is extremely admirable. Video games are changing people for the better, since this is care for a stranger and a help to ones in need like KZbinrs :) In Raid: Shadow Legends Tornado is best skill in the game or atleast it was, people really give power to tornados and we have such mild ones here at Finland it just amazes me how people who actually live in areas where there could be a life threatening tornado make it extremely powerful in games. Haha at 41:27 the Demon has "D" in his name, looks like a shark fishman so it reminds me of One Piece anime / manga by Eichiro Oda & One Piece Crew where there is "Family of D" & fishmen race but the D's who are the natural enemies of World Government founding member families who are called "Celestial Dragons" so the "D" in the One Piece might as well stand for "Demon" I am so big One Piece fan i took pic, shared it on my community page and made a direct link to your video also providing the timestamp. There is even a dragon attacking the "D" human turned fishman demon, it all fits :P Lyla "Satin Sheets"... 58:20 Oh the Yeti farts no question at that, we call those kinds of farts here on Finland "Silent Skier" as there is no booming fart voice, very realistic since "Silent Skier" farts smell way worse

[@AB-Prince]

I find it funny that you spesifically mention the digital release of the game for not having the manual, but I've bought many games second hand and only a handfull of them still have the manual.

[@honestjason7854]

Your videos remind me of total biscuit , Today we will ask W.T.F is crisis. man loved his stuff and love your content.

[@AwfulGamersLtd]

The very first ledge you can drop from shouldn't kill you, as long as you don't fall in the water. I also really enjoy the old way of having information in a manual. It was always a satisfying experience to work out what you can on your own, and refer to the manual as needed. Having access to the same information in the game world, tends to feel hand holding and take away from discovery.

[@strawberyyicecreamdream216]

This is giving me flashbacks to the Halo 3 flood level. I got lost for like 2 hours in there.