Demon Of Song

More like, Demon Of AWESOME!

    Before ever playing a single second of Dark Souls II, before there was ANY information about it, way back when they showed a teaser trailer at the VGAs, I told myself I'd get through it the first time by myself. I'd refrain from spoilers. I'd discover what I could on my own. I'd let the pure magic of discovery lead my initial playthrough. Well, readers, if you've read the previous 20+ posts, you know I failed miserably at this. And I rarely sought out information; I just found myself so enamored, so obsessed, so deep into this game, I couldn't HELP but to read and spoil things for myself. It really sucks, because I don't feel I'm the best Souls player I can be. I also know I'm just not smart, resourceful, or patient enough to figure out the more obtuse things in this game. That rambling is a preamble to this: going into this area, I knew two things about it from reading online: The Shrine Of Amana is the toughest area of the game, and the boss of it is a pushover. I found both of those statements to be false (slightly).
    The Shrine Of Amana is a pain, that part is certainly true. The mages that have a RIDICULOUS reach on their homing spells are assholes. 'Tis true! But their magic didn't hurt me as much as I was expecting it to (maybe due to the Spell Quartz Ring +2 you find directly after killing Looking Glass Knight but before coming down to this area). So I was able to slog through the area with my trusty Dragonrider bow. Looking past the annoying enemies, this place really is breathtaking, and looked NOTHING like I expected. Based on what I had read, I expected a super dark old tomb filled with narrow corridors and water. It's really like a much larger, more fleshed out Ash Lake. It looks amazing, and it's the best looking place in the whole game (so far).

Something wicked this way sits

    Once you crawl (it really does feel like a crawl: you have to be slow and methodical) through the level, you reach a fog gate in a cave area. Through the gate you'll meet the Demon Of Song. As I said, I had read he was super easy. I also read he was a frog-like boss. He is, but, again, nothing like I expected. This has to be probably my favorite looking boss in the whole series. He is a frog, somewhat. He has that brown, wet-looking amphibious skin; he has the typical frog legs; and he can hop and shoot across the water like a frog. His face, however, is something close to truly terrifying. It's an old, withered, human face. From afar, I thought at first it was a skull. This is much better. Sometimes he'll pull excess skin on his head over his face, to create a mask of sorts. The first time I saw him do this, I was simply astounded at how creative it was. To top it off, he's got two long skinny arms that come out of where his head is (perhaps the frog-skin is just a cover for his true body? All we get to see if that are his arms and face).

Tell me this isn't disturbingly awesome

    At first, this thing killed me twice right off the bat, and then another time as a phantom helping someone out. I thought, man, this thing is hard as hell. Well, turns out it really isn't very hard at all. He attacks a few different ways: he slowly swipes with his arms, which does crazy damage, even through my shield. He'll also jump high in the air and try to crash down on you. You fight him in a small amount of water, and he can shoot himself across the water like a rocket. I found all his attacks to be quite devastating, and difficult to dodge. However, I realized he has an easy pattern to figure out. If you go up to him, he'll take his head and arms out, and swipe them around. Just back up and let him do this. Once he finishes, he just sits there for a second or two. Now's the chance to go and pummel him. Just repeat this process, and be aware if he jumps or glides over the water. I should have said earlier, but only his head and arms are vulnerable. His frog-skin can't be harmed.

Cross up!

    Once I figured out how to kill this guy, it was pretty easy. I learned something in the Shrine Of Amana: the way I picture things in my mind, and the way they actually look, are almost ALWAYS WILDLY DIFFERENT. I really wish I hadn't spoiled so much of this game for myself. At this point, I'm close to the end, but I know the remaining bosses and areas. Not what they look like, but I know about them. And that's enough for them to be spoiled. I'm hoping maybe there is a super secret area that no one has discovered yet, and I'll discover it on my own. Prooooobably not though. Hey, let me say it here: for Dark Souls III, or its spiritual successor (hopefully the latter), I'm NOT GONNA READ ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNTIL I BEAT IT ONCE IN MY OWN!

Every senior citizen should have Life Alert!

Times I died: 2
Difficulty: 3/10
Rating: 10/10 (yup, I went there)

Up next, we venture deep through the Undead Crypt and find a big, giant, gold guy

BOSS SOUL DESCRIPTION: "When the demon developed a taste for human flesh, it was contained within the Shrine of Amana, but the line of priestesses who looked after the shrine and appeased the creature have died off." 

 

Spotted Whip

 Spotted Whip: "The Demon's sonorous voice, in stark contrast to its hideous form, is sure intended to lure people close so that it may devour them."