Dark Souls, Demon's Souls, and King's Field. Know your JRPGs.

Dark Souls is an upcoming PS3/360 game due to release in October of 2011 in US Sept of 2011 in Japan Published in US by Namco/Bandai and developed by From Software. If you’ve not heard of it or seen any footage you either don’t pay attention to gaming news and media or are purposefully dodging it.

I want to talk to you about Dark Souls. Before those of you reading this run off thinking there isn’t much more about Dark Souls anyone can tell you, know that this article is for you too.


Most of us that know of Dark Souls’ existence and anticipate it's release this October only really know about it because of it’s predecessor Demon’s Souls. A commenter on our Youtube channel actually just dropped a megaton in the comments field. Yeah yeah I’m sure some of you who are reading may know about this and if you do I excuse you from the room and can go back to raping people in Demon’s Souls.

This Youtube commenter’s name is sentyuu. So out of nowhere this guy says:
“Don't forget to this game is sold by BANDAI NAMCO but made by FROMSOFTWARE.
FROMSOFTWARE is awesome company.
If you think that you might love this game , you should play the "KING'S FIELD".
Do you know "KING's FIELD"?
That is almost　of origin of the "Demon's soul" ＆ "Dark Souls".
I apologize to you my poor English. I commented because there is only Namco Bandai in the title. I anxious about it.“

Now I know this is a bit misspelled but as he states he’s not from ‘round these parts. I’m guessing he’s Japanese. That makes the most sense to me that he is Japanese for 3 reasons. 1 - because he was apologetic and courteous, and 2 - because this game called “King’s Field” originated in Japan. 3 - His name is a dead give away says our commenter friend RevSchroedter.

So what does King’s Field have to do with this post? Well if you understood what user Sentyuu said you’d know that the developers of Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls also developed a game series called “King’s Field”. I being the round-eye-light-skinned-USA-born-Mexican that I am have never once heard of a game called “King’s Field”. A series of games which began in 1994 through 2001, beginning on the PS1 system, and ending on the PS2 with “King’s Field IV”.

So why is this important to me, a person who just wants to sadistically kill my fellow gamers for my own progression? I don’t know, maybe like me you actually care enough about Demon’s Souls that you’d like to understand how seemingly out of nowhere From Software created such a moody interesting game which oozes creativity, atmosphere, and style.





That was the Trailer to King’s Field. The original game for PS1 released in 1994 in Japan. Listen to the Music; look at the graphics. Don’t they give off that same Demon’s Souls feelings? Actually in my opinion between the King’s Field games, and Demon’s Souls they went a different route with the atmosphere. The main thing I notice is the music. Of course I’d bring up the music, if you know me in any way you’d know that there’s going to be a King’s Field Musicast coming... which there is. But yes back to King’s Field.

King’s field was a full polygon, real-time, free roaming, first person perspective RPG in the same vein as Oblivion. Anyway these were and continue to be incredibly popular games even as old as they are. They went so far as to port some of them to PSP and PC. Here’s a trailer for “King’s Field IV.





So by now you realize like I did after watching these videos that Demon’s Souls didn’t actually just spring out of nowhere. Demon’s Souls is the spiritual successor to King’s Field. It does better what these games first introduced. In almost every case it takes what foundation they laid with King’s Field and just made it better.

So now we’re here. We’re currently awaiting Dark Souls and you ask why the hell did you just drag me through all that stupid information? First of all that’s rude of you to talk to me that way, and secondly I’ve read that even though Demon’s Souls was a spiritual successor to King’s Field, Dark Souls is going to be more similar to it. By now you must have heard that there is no longer a Nexus (the hub like area in Demon’s Souls where you pick your levels and upgrade your weapons) in Dark Souls. It’s going back to the more real-time free-roaming experience that was King’s Field.

If you or anyone you know has ever been interested in Japanese RPGs and are getting sick and tired of them saying that nothing good or innovative ever comes from Japan anymore; Bring them here. Show them this and let me just say to those people who are now reading this: Play some Demon’s Souls, and join us in anticipation of Dark Souls, it’s bliss (@ _ @ ).