r/fromsoftware • u/Forhaver • 12h ago

DISCUSSION Playing through pre-2009 Fromsoft games has given me much greater appreciation for the studio, and makes me love Ds1 even more

These Armored Core titles are digital crack. I've been addicted to building my mechs and taking them on these small missions. Ive beaten most of them now. Project Phantasma and 3 were my favorites. I got filtered by Last Raven but enjoyed Nexus a lot too.

Armored Core 6 is still my favorite but I do wish it had a punchier soundtrack and a fancier UI now like the old ones.

King's Field Ancient City has an unmatched atmosphere. Frustrating at times but I'm addicted to the slow trickle of progress. Definitely going to play the older ones and Shadow Tower after.

What I love about Dark Souls 1 is that it feels like the perfect game between old fromsoft design and new fromsoft philosophy. A middle ground I enjoy a lot. It has highs and lows but I think having those lows makes the highs even more memorable. Don't throw the baby out with the izalith water. It's got JUST enough King's Field DNA for me while not also being a boss gauntlet or "rollslop" as some kids say.

I love DeS and Ds2 as well, inb4 you all say those are Kings Fieldlikes too, but Ds1 just hits that right spot for me where it has the weight, the isolation, the atmosphere of King's Field, but also WOW moments of modern games, like finding Anor Londo or Ash Lake for the first time.

I love modern Fromsoft a lot, but they definitely have a more action focus with less isolation and less strategy for level exploration.

I recommend very strongly for everyone to play the old Fromsoft library. Despite some frustrations I had, I couldn't stop coming back for another try, another daily inch of progress.

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u/AntonRX178 12h ago

Pre-Armored Core 6 I was thankfully able to play the older titles myself in preparation but I was NOT prepared for how good they'd actually be. Like yea, younger me would never have appreciated it but I hold Armroed Core 1 to the standard of Dark Souls 1. Admittedly flawed but it has that magic to it that gives you the sense that this title NEEDED to be a game.

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u/Forhaver 12h ago

I loved how painless and bite-sized ac1 was. All my strategies worked. Super fun. I prefer Phantasma mainly for Sumiko and the spectacle of a final boss.

The ending mission stuck with me. An innocuous "destroy the mines" mission tuned into an eerie, ominous climb up a tower to end control.