PixlBit

Wherein I ninja my way through the mines.

Previously in the Travel Log: After many trials, tribulations, and deaths, I managed to triumph over the dreaded Tower Knight! Read about it here.

Before I do anything else, I think it’s high-time to take out that Red Dragon that has given me so much grief. Someone commented on one of my other Travel Logs that I should kill the dragon, and that’s something that didn’t even occur to me. I figured I’d have to beat him in a scripted boss fight later on. I do some research and find that there’s a perfect place to snipe him with a bow. It just takes a really long time.

I won’t bore you with the details, but it takes a really long time. So long, in fact, that I’m not sure that I’m hurting him. His life bar pops up, but the life bar is red, and the damage numbers are orange. The dragon is red, and his flames are orange, so you can see my issue here. I feel like I’m cheating by doing this, and yet, this almost seems like it was designed this way. The fact that he comes around for pass after pass, and there’s this perfect little perch to shoot at him…I don’t know. This could be by design, or an exploit of the game. But I’ve learned that you should exploit Demon’s Souls as much as you can, because Demon’s Souls will exploit you as much as it can. The dragon goes down, and I get some souls, and the satisfaction of never being chased by him ever again.

I go back to where the Red and Blue dragons were perched, thinking that maybe I can sneak attack the Blue to death, but when I get there, the coast is clear. I don’t buy it, though. I bet that the Red Dragon was the Blue Dragon’s mate, or kid, and any second she’s going to show up and torch me. There’s a veritable treasure trove of items here, though, so I make like a ninja and pick them up with no problems. For once, something in Demon’s Souls went off without a hitch.

 

I’m a little worn out on grinding right now, so I think I’ll just press forward from where I left off. Only, I can’t go forward from where the Tower Knight skewered me over and over. It says I have to slay an archdemon to pass. So I guess that means I’m heading over to 2-1.

I won’t lie—I’m nervous about this. After you beat Phalanx, you can go to any of the worlds in any order that you want. I figure I’ll go in order, but I’m almost sure that there’s some sort of magical Mega Man order that I should tackle these levels in.  But for now, I’ll just keep going in order until I hit a difficulty wall that tells me I should be in a different area.

2-1, Stonefang Tunnel, is quite a change from the Boletarian Palace, and I appreciate that. I’ve spent about ten hours in those first two stages, so a change in locale is most welcome. There are notes all over telling me “do not go forward without a piercing weapon”, or “the next enemy is weak to piercing damage”. So far, I’m still using my starting sword, which is now a +4. I have a spear, but I don’t have the skill to wield it one-handed, and you are out of your mind if you think I’m putting my shield away. I’ve been doing a little bit of homework on Demon’s Souls between sessions, though, and I’ve adopted Vinnie Caravella’s thrusting attack as seen on his Quick Look. Lucky for me, that attack counts as piercing damage.

It’s a good thing, too, because those notes weren’t kidding! When I try slashing at the first enemy in the area, I do a meager 14 hit points of damage. I’m happy to find that he’s pretty slow, and instead of killing me in one hit for my insolence, I have time to do a thrust attack. That kills him outright, and I suddenly have way more confidence.

These guys are pathetic! They are slow, they don’t have any ranged attacks, and I can kill them with one thrust. There are a lot of them, but I’m cautious, keep my shield up, and even the ones that try and jump out at me fall with no fuss. I’m not going to get cocky like before, though. I’ve learned that this game will turn on you in a nanosecond if you let your guard down. Sure enough, I come across an enemy that uses the same fire spell that I have, but I block it and fire back with my own. He goes down, too.

Even with all this success, I’m still on the edge of my seat. Demon’s Souls recalls so many games from my past. I’ve already talked about parts of it that remind me of Dead Rising, Mega Man, and Castlevania, but it’s also just as scary to me as a Silent Hill game. Well, maybe a more recent Silent Hill game, anyway. It’s not that the game really has any horror elements, but the constant threat of the unknown turns it into a horror game for me. I get the same feeling any time that I play Super Metroid.

In this level, though, I’m getting another vibe, one that I never would have guessed. I’m feeling like Solid Snake the way that I’m maneuvering through this area. I move slow but steady, and I take action when it’s the most advantageous for me. There are these little salamanders on the wall that look harmless enough, but I’m not going to let that fool me. I pick them off from afar with my bow. I bet that they could kill me in seconds if I let them.

And sure enough, the one time that I get attacked by a couple of them, I almost die. I don’t, though, and I’m really booking it through this level. I found another blacksmith to upgrade my weapons, and a handy elevator that leads right to him from the start of the level. That’s a great thing about Demon’s Souls—you’ll always find shortcuts to let you get around really tough areas after you’ve passed through them.

I know I’m getting close to the boss, and the environment has tipped me off to what I’ll be facing. Spider webs are covering pretty much every surface of this room. Step into my parlor, said the spider to the magician. Part of me wants to go back and regroup. I’ve totally ninja’s this level, and I feel like my good fortune is about to wear off. Eh, frak it; I’m going all in.

The messages here say to use arrows on this boss. Great ide…oh, hell. I didn’t restock my arrows after killing the Red Dragon. I still have a pretty good stock, but if it takes as many arrows to kill this thing as it did to kill the dragon, I’ll be in trouble. Oh, well, I’m already here. I no longer fear death in this game. Okay, that’s a lie. I totally fear death in this game.

This boss fight takes place in a long hallway. Off to the side is a note that says “it’s safe here”. Good to know. The Armor Spider has two attacks: fireballs and a web attack that does little damage but slows you to half speed. I’m picking him off with arrows. I still don’t feel safe, no matter what this note says. I’d equip my fire resistance ring if I hadn’t left it with the item storage guy back at the Nexus.

I’m doing about 80 damage per arrow which seems low, but each one takes a bit of health off of the spider’s life bar. But I’m running low on arrows, and now I’m wondering what I’ll do when I run out. Well, I just ran out, so I’d better figure something out fast. I move forward, shield up, and find another safe spot. I try firing off spells from there, but it’s too far away. I’m going to have to get up close and personal, and I’m probably going to die when I do. Wand in hand, I move into the main chamber. The spider is at less than 25%, so maybe I have a chance. At this range, the Armor Spider is doing melee attacks, and I’m used to avoiding those. I evade, block, and fire back, and before I know it, I’m getting soul rewards for killing the boss!

Elation! I want to jump up and down. I want people to cheer for me. Then I remember that I’m just playing a video game at home. But in this moment, I feel like Demon’s Souls has clicked for me. I ventured into the unknown, went forward, and conquered. I’m excited to move forward.

Next time: the great unknown!