Sunday, October 16, 2016

Top 10 Dark Souls Bosses

The Dark Souls trilogy is known for its difficulty and deep lore, so of course there will be some memorable bosses. Today I'll be counting down the top ten Dark Souls bosses, I'll be using difficulty, lore, and overall fun to determine my personal list. Let it be known now that other games by Fromsoftware such as Bloodborne or Demon Souls, just Dark Souls games.

10. The Pursuer:
Dark Souls II 
This boss reappears throughout Dark Souls II, you can even encounter him before his intended arena. He hovers slightly giving him maneuverability that is tricky for first timers, armed with a greatshield and a cursed greatsword. Although he has difficulty, most people I hear that play this game have learned much from this boss. Such skills as dodging and parrying can be learned by continuously fighting him.

9. Quelaag:
Dark Souls I
 After the horror that is blighttown in the first Dark Souls game, the player has to continue through the dark cavern to only find this daughter of chaos. A monster with the top half being a woman and the bottom half being a flared spider-like creature. But she did not always look like this, her story is a sad one about caring and protecting loved ones. The witch of Izaleth was a lord of cinder who wanted to create a flame to continue the age of fire, and with her daughters she could attempt this feat, Quelaag was one of these daughters as a normal human. The experiment resulted in the transformation of the witch to an unrecognizable being creating several demons to plague the world and disfiguring the daughters who survived into these monsters. After the player defeats her, they can continue to find another daughter but she is trapped and can't move. Quelaag protected her and was her only means of staying alive. Now Quelaag is gone, and if no one helps her she will die too.

8. Lothric and Lorian:
Dark Souls III
Fromsoftware really stepped their game up in the third addition of the story with bosses. These TWO princes of the kingdom of Lothric also have a deep lore that adds to this awesome fight. This kingdom wanted to produce a successful heir to link the first flame. Lorian was a possible candidate but became crippled which is why he crawls in the battle. Lothric later was born but he was the prince that was promised and linked the fire, despite being frail. In the first half of the fight, the player fights one on one with Lorian who can teleport and send large bursts of energy with his sword. After defeated, Lorian seems dead until Lothric weakly comes to Lorian and resurrects him. Now in the second half, Lothric holds onto his brother to send sorcery projectiles at the player and resurrects Lorian whenever he dies. The only way to win is by killing Lothric, but that is quite the challenge.

7. Ivory King:
Dark Souls II
Not many kings in this game are very good men, but the Ivory King was. He was a warrior who fought for his country with no second thought. Many kingdoms have walls to keep those out and to protect those inside, but this kingdom was built to keep something from coming out. The Chaos, previously mentioned on the list, is always hungry and feeds on what it can. To add more to the king's shoulders, his wife was a literal daughter of the source of darkness which affected the king. So to appeal to the chaos he sacrifices himself, to become the champion of chaos. The actual fight is one of the most epic ones to date. You fall down to the bed of chaos with a legion of Ivory Knights and fight taken knights to bring out the Ivory king. The idea to fight with a group of knights make this fight amazing and the scenery of fire all around made it all the more epic.

6. Aldrich:
Dark Souls III
Imagine a lord who gained his title not by virtue but by sheer might. The gluttonous Aldrich was once a deacon of the cleansing chapel who ate and ate until he bloated, and then ate humans to gain more power then turned to a sludge but wanted to continue his consumption. When the player encounters this boss he is consuming Gyndolin, a Dark Souls I boss. Aldrich is an incredibly hard boss due to his strong melee attacks and punishing ranged attacks. He is one of the few characters in the game who linked the fire along with Lothric from earlier.

5. Abyss Watchers: 
Dark Souls III

Another linker of the fire, the Abyss Watchers are a legion of undead who watch over the abyss where darkness seeps to the world. This boss definitely has the cool factor, the cinematic shows a room filled with dead legionnaires and two are fighting each other. One gets the advantage and kills his brother in arms before turning to you. The abyss set in and overtook them causing madness. The Abyss Watcher is fast and hard to keep up with, tracking him is rough and once you get it another abyss watcher swoops in to attack. Trying to avoid them both is hard enough but trying to also attack can be frustrating too. Another drops but amazingly this one actually fights with you. Once you defeat the first Watcher, phase two begins. The blood of the many legionnaires joins around another resurrecting him and igniting his sword, he hits harder with a flame effect. The music and the tone of the battle made it a beautiful fight indeed.

4. Nameless King:
Dark Souls III
Now this boss is a hard one, most in the community says that this boss is the hardest in Dark Souls III. It is said that this boss is the son of Gwyn, the lord of fire, and it's possible that it's true since this is a godly difficult boss. He rides in on a feathered dragon which breathes fire and he calls lightning to ruin your day. After you kill the dragon he absorbs its power and now has wind attacks along with his lightning, he also is fast and fights aggressively which makes it hard to counter. Better summon a friend or pray.

3. Ornstein and Smough:
Dark Souls I
These are the celebrities of Dark Souls, regarded as on of the best bosses in video games by some. The player has to handle both of these, Ornstein is fast and uses a spear with lightning damage while Smough is slow and uses a devastatingly powerful hammer. Both complement each other to show a very challenging boss fight. But if you kill one of them phase two begins, one absorbs the other's power. Ornstein does more damage and gets bigger, Smough gets a lightning bonus. They are a favorite from the community and it shows why.

2. Soul of Cinder:
Dark Souls III
If you put the full feeling of nostalgia into a boss that would be the Soul of Cinder. The final boss of Dark Souls III, he is the collective being of all who have linked the fire. This includes the player's character from the first or second game. During the first phase, the Soul of Cinder uses many different fighting styles the character used. Such as a sword, spear, curved sword, and staff for magic. Trying to fight the many fighting styles is incredibly fun and challenging, but if you beat it you move on to stage two. The song changes to the theme from the first final boss Gywn, and his sword changes plus his moveset to mimic Gwyn's. Which was absolutely beautiful to go through and a perfect close to the game.

1. Artorias the Abyss Walker:
Dark Souls I
Artorias was one of Gwyn's royal knights, like Ornstein, he was ordered to fight the abyss to keep the age of fire rolling. But he was unprepared for the power of the abyss. He lost himself to the abyss and became consumed, going mad. But any mention of him talks of his greatness as a man. As the player fights the corrupted Artorius, he has acrobatics in his moveset and comes with a full ferocity. The feeling of heartbreak loomed as you fight a man who fell so low.

This was my top ten dark souls bosses, I love this game and its bosses. A game with such amazing design shows some of the best bosses. If you disagree let me know below but that is all for the week.

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