...but the first boss!
The first boss (if he can so be called. The beginning of the game is fairly non-linear, so while he was my first boss, someone who went to Heide's Tower Of Flame would fight a couple more first) is The Last Giant, who resides, logically enough, within the Forest Of The Fallen Giants.When you first enter through the fog gate, you are treated to a small cut-scene of the strange-looking giant (Giant? Should it be capitalized I wonder?), who sort of looks like a tree, motionless for a brief moment before his faceless head turns up at you and utters a nice, guttural growl. He then breaks from his bondage (seemingly debris and general nature that has grown up on/around him over the years), lets out one more growl, then charges.He's certainly scary when you first see him, and will intimidate first time Souls players (and maybe even veterans), but he turns out to be a fairly atypical Souls "first" boss. He's similar to Phalanx from Demon's Souls, and Asylum Demon and Taurus Demon from Dark Souls, wherein they all are fairly big, look scary as hell, will kill you a few times, but once you get the pattern down, you'll likely never die to them again, unless you're experimenting with a new build/weapon set-up/spell, or are just being ridiculously careless. Last Giant works well to introduce you to Dark Souls while not being terribly difficult. Sure, you'll die, but after two or three times, this lanky bastard will call you master.
As far as aesthetics, I think Last Giant looks pretty cool. So far, about 15 hours in (only at the Belfry Gargoyles, more on them at a later date), he's the coolest looking boss. Many of the bosses in the beginning are humanoid, or are outright knights. While the Giant IS sort of humanoid, he's also a monstrosity, and doesn't look very much like a human. He's thin, fragile looking, and he doesn't have a face, just a hole where it either should be, or where a head would connect to the rest of his body. I actually thought that was his proper face (I mean, he does howl), but I think I read somewhere that he's supposed to have a head that connects to that hole. Who knows, but I choose to believe that's his natural look. But anyway it does add to his creepiness. I didn't realize when I fought him, but he's got several swords and axes sticking out of his back, like he had been attacked and left for dead for ages. I did notice he has a huge tree trunk impaling his torso, which again adds a nice touch. This poor (well, not really poor. I mean, he does try to kill you for no real reason) Giant has been through a lot, or at least that's what's implied. Why was he attacked? Why are the other Giants you find in the forest dead and decaying?
This guy's really pretty easy, and my basic strategy was to run and roll through his feet. He'll do an arm sweep attack that will completely miss you. And look at that, now you're directly below him, in between his feet, near his ankle. In this position, you're free to take a couple swings. Be aware that you should save some stamina to run/roll out from underneath him, because he will stomp around before too long. I found these attacks to be fairly devastating, and I couldn't withstand more than two of them. But after you hit him a few times (I could hit him twice), just run out, and you'll easily avoid this attack. And now, you're far enough away that you can heal if needed. After that, just run back to him, roll under the arm sweep attack, and hack away again. Run out before the stomping. Rinse and repeat. I'm sure there may be better strategies, but this is what I used, and what worked for me.Also, about halfway through this battle, he rips one of his arms off to use it as a club, giving himself a little extra reach. I didn't find this to affect the battle for me in the slightest.
Overall, a pretty decent fight to kick off this great game. He's a good first boss that follows in the footsteps of previous first bosses in the other games. I know some people dislike this one, but I'm not sure why. I read somewhere (a diary article on IGN I believe) that the design of the Giant isn't a true Souls design, and that there's no elegance to it. I disagree with this. I find a certain elegance, and maybe a bit of sadness too. He's as elegant as a dying, killer ballerina. But that's neither here nor there.
Times I died (this is an approximate number, because I stupidly didn't keep track, but it should be within 1-2 deaths): 3
Difficulty (based on the very first playthrough, no Company of Champions or anything): 4/10.
Overall Rating (a mix of difficulty, the overall battle, aesthetics, and lore, if applicable): 6/10.
Next up, we have the Dragonrider.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS SOUL DESCRIPTION: "Soul of the surviving giant, who was bound below the Forest of the Giants; Many seasons had come and gone, and the giant prepared for his final rest. But his soul remained magnificent, testimony to his former strength."
 |
| Giant Stone Axe |
0 comments:
Post a Comment