Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are many things. They are
representations that classic game design have a place in the
modern era. They prove that many people still thrive off of the feeling of
natural, deserved success. That no man or woman wants to simply be given a
reward, but that they must earn it. Amongst the most talked about features is
surely the difficulty, and that is where the sense of accomplishment stems.
Much of it has to do with the games’ dark fantasy worlds, its trap-filled
rooms, and its intensely horrifying monstrosities. But nothing embodies either
game’s message of self-fulfillment more than the bosses.
10.
Tower Knight
The
first “proper” boss many players will come to experience throughout their
journey in Demon’s Souls, the Tower
Knight is notable for encompassing all of what made many of the bosses of this
game so unique: he was massive; he had an outstanding theme song; and there
were a variety of ways with which you could tackle him. Magic or otherwise
ranged players could take a cue from the enemy archers at the start of the
fight and simply hang out on the balconies, sniping him while avoiding his
giant magic spear throw, while the melee-oriented danced around his ankles
trying to topple the metal mammoth. No matter how you chose to kill him, the
Tower Knight was one of those fights you simply had to tell your friends about.
9. Maiden
Astraea
I’m a
sucker for straight-up duels, and none embody that sense more so than the
Maiden Astraea fight. While this fair lady is the true boss of the zone, it is
her loyal bodyguard Garl Vinland that serves as the primary foe. There are
several ways with which to finish this encounter (such as sniping Astraea from
afar without ever fighting Garl), but doing so would deprive you of a truly
memorable, albeit a bit simple, fight. Garl is all brawn, and when you meet him
in the narrow corridor leading to Astraea, he stands absolutely still –
resolute. His shield is raised and his gargantuan hammer, the Bramd, lifted
over his shoulder. He is waiting for you to make the first move, but don’t let
his weighty appearance fool you; he is more than capable of parrying your blows
and delivering his own form of swift vengeance.
8. Black
Dragon Kalameet
When I
heard the announcement for Dark Souls,
among the many things I wished for, one was at the top of the list: a true,
proper dragon fight. Gaping Dragon and Seath the Scaleless seemed to fulfill
that desire, but something was still missing: they were dragons, sure, but they
had gimmicks. They didn’t behave like what I was expecting. What I wanted was
something more along the lines of Rathalos from the Monster Hunter series. It wasn’t until the Artorias of the Abyss
DLC released in 2012 (one year after the game’s initial release, first as a
complete edition for PC and then as a separate download for consoles) that my
desire for a real dragon fight was satiated. Kalameet was everything and more,
but not only was his fight exactly what I had wanted for so long, it was also
introduced in one of the most spectacular ways imaginable. With the aid of
Hawkeye Gough, from his perch on high, the legendary sniper shot down the
ancient dragon, allowing you to fight him at his roost.
7. Sif,
the Great Grey Wolf
Wolves
have a place in fantasy settings. They are often seen as companions, or
otherwise symbolize justice and honor. A giant wolf with a sword in its mouth
symbolizes duty, and is just plain awesome. Sif was Artorias’ loyal partner,
his greatest friend. When the great knight succumbed to the Abyss, he
sacrificed the last bit of his powers to save his oldest friend. Traditionally,
the players meet Sif as a boss in the Darkroot Gardens, protecting the
gravestone of Artorias, and, more importantly, the ring necessary to traverse
the Abyss that overwhelmed his master. But in the DLC, players can find a much
younger, docile Sif, protected by the spell cast by Artorias. Saving him treats
you to an unusually heartwarming cutscene at the start of his fight, should you
progress through the game in that order.
6. Manus, Father of the Abyss
Manus,
Father of the Abyss, possibly the furtive pygmy, the progenitor of mankind, is
the last and final non-optional boss of the Artorias DLC. He brings with him an
arsenal only the most prepared demon slayers can cope with. Despite his rather
large size and unseemly physiological structure, Manus is swift and agile. He
has tremendous reach, both physically and later with his array of dark magic
spells. Not only is he perhaps one of the toughest bosses in both Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls, but it is from of him that much of the Dark Souls
lore stems. The Abyss, which spread out from Oolacile and soon enraptured much
of the world, was his doing, and the state of decay left in his wake is a bleak
reminder of the folly of man’s ignorance and naivety.
5. Old King Allant
The
true final boss of Demon’s Souls,
King Allant is most notorious for one particular move: Soulsucker. This is a unique variant of the player-learned
ability in that it will actually steal a level from you if you’re hit by it.
Allant’s speed is also his greatest strength, as he can cross the length of the
room in mere seconds with his dashing attack. Although not particularly
difficult, Allant is a formidable foe simply because of the risks that go along
with fighting him. He is capable of dealing a tremendous amount of damage in a
short amount of time, and with few of his abilities, can very easily one-shot
you. He is also perhaps one of the best visually designed bosses in either
game. He’s simple and elegant, but maintains an aura about him of otherworldly
prowess.
4. The
Four Kings
Infamous
for their brutal aggression and the lack of spatial awareness where you fight
them, The Four Kings are one of the most difficult bosses in all of Dark Souls. Initially a one-on-one
fight, replicas of the King start to appear the longer the battle goes on, up
to, as the name implies, a maximum of one-versus-four. Players adept enough can
quickly fell one of the kings before a second appears, but with a severe
hindrance to depth perception (because you literally fight them in a void of
darkness) it can be very difficult to gauge the distance between you and them,
resulting in either you missing many attacks, or you improperly dodging theirs.
3.
Knight Artorias
The man
the legends spoke of and one of the most influential figures in the history of Dark Souls lore. Throughout the game
proper, you hear talk of the legendary Knight Artorias, the Abysswalker. Tales
of his triumph and heroism are whispered throughout the realms. But the fabric
of his legacy is a lie, a fraud perpetuated by time to hide the truth. Artorias
was swallowed by the Abyss. He failed in his mission to stop the spread of
darkness, and as a result, became maddened with rage. The Abyss consumed him, seeped
into his body and mind and turned the greatest warrior into a fractured pawn.
But he was one hell of a fight. When you meet him in the DLC, it is a humbling
experience. Artorias is one of the swiftest opponents you are likely to face, with
the raw physical strength to match. It’s a wonder, then, how powerful he is
with only one arm (his left is broken and rests dangling at his side), that if
you fought him in his prime, how difficult would he really be?
2. Flamelurker
The one
and only. The boss responsible for so many deaths in Demon’s Souls, and perhaps even more ragequits. Flamelurker, or as
he is more affectionately known by the community, Flamefucker, is a beast of
pure aggression. From the second the fight properly begins, he is relentless.
His pursuit is constant and his onslaught endless. He is arguably the most
difficult encounter in the entire game on pure mechanics alone. He gets even
more difficult as the fight goes on, gaining speed and damage output as the flames
he is wreathed in grow larger and brighter. Sadly, he suffers from significant
environmental glitches that the player can use to their advantage to easily
break the fight. Despite this, in a legitimate scenario, Flamelurker remains
one of the most memorable and triumphant battles in either game.
1. Dragonslayer
Ornstein and Executioner Smough
Bert
and Ernie. Siegfried and Roy. Siskel and Ebert. Pinky and the Brain. Pikachu
and Snorlax. Whatever you want to call them (and trust me, there are many, many
names), Ornstein and Smough are perhaps the greatest single boss fight in the
history of the current Souls series.
Developer From Software enjoys pitting the player up against odds he or she is far too outmatched to handle. One such way is to simply make him or her fight
more than one enemy at a time, particularly in bosses. We first saw this in Demon’s Souls, against the Maneaters, and
while those bosses did not receive a place on this list (they are certainly a
notable absence), it is that concept, that sense of hopelessness that carries
through into the Ornstein and Smough fight.
Visually
and mechanically different, Ornstein and Smough could have been separate bosses
and they each would have made phenomenal boss fights worthy of inclusion on
this list. And that’s where they differ compared to every other
against-the-odds encounter. Maneaters, Fool’s Idol, Bell Gargoyles, even the
Four Kings featured earlier on this list – they all have one thing in common.
Even though you’re fighting multiple enemies at once, they all have the same or
near-identical movesets. Ornstein and Smough do not. They come at you, one with
lightning speed and the other with slow, dreadful power. Ornstein, the faster
of the two, moves with a blinding purpose, crossing the room in a matter of
seconds with his massive spear. Smough moves brutishly across the room, and is
of less concern than his speedy counterpart, but get too close and he will make
excellent use of his extraordinarily large mallet.
The fight
would be enough if you just had to kill them both, but no, there’s more. In
typical Souls fashion, there is
always a catch. Kill one, and this enrages the other, who promptly leeches the
lifeforce and powers of his fallen comrade. As soon as this cutscene ends, the
fight begins anew, with the living opponent’s health completely restored and
his moveset now a mixture of the two. Whichever of the two is the one you kill
second, that is the soul you are granted, and with it you can forge their
weapon, making this a fight you have to think of not only in terms of “what
weapon do I want,” but also “which one can kick my ass easier,” because that
will determine which one you kill first.
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