UMURANGI GENERATION: store.steampowered.com/app/1223500/Umurangi_Generation/ yo do u want name? like name at {enter time code here u dumb ass} then u can patreon! patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=2285408 i should say also, despite what i say at the start of this video, playing evergrace and kingsfield has never made me want to try out the souls games more then ive ever wanted to. i picked up demon soul. i will play soon. not sure if video or not but i will do dis

The NPCs are either suicidal or murderous. Yeah, that's Fromsoft alright.

A lot of your compliments for Evergrace actually fit into a lot of reasons why people really like Demon's/Dark Souls/Bloodborne/ uh, Sekiro... The intricate world, mysteries, and challenging but rewarding gameplay all are why a lot of people like them. They get too much of a reputation as a hardcore game (as memey as that is), but are crafted really damn well.

I just found out that EverGrave actually got a seuqel, somehow! The localized version of it for North America was renamed to "Forever Kingdom" for some reason, while it was still titled "EverGrace 2" in Japan.

I miss the days when companies made whatever the heck they wanted.

I like playing games where the menu shows the character's blood type and has a logo of the game itself in the corner. I don't know why. It just kind of feels cutely enthusiastic, like "Hey, we worked hard on these menus! Look at all this detail!"

Talking about games that aren't Souls games from From Software but tagging it with the souls games. Clever.

FromSoft was low-key one of my favorite developers as a kid. Lost Kingdoms, Evergrace, and Otogi were all games that immediately struck me as being something different and worth paying attention to. I was basically the only person I knew who was actually excited for Demon's Souls before it came out.

So, this video has the most in depth critique of Kota Hoshino I've ever encountered, and I'm genuinely thankful that someone appreciates the uniqueness of his work enough to highlight it. I personally was introduced to his work though Armored Core 4A, but I am slowly coming to realize that he's probably like my favorite video game composer of all time. Very, very cool that someone out there gets the vibe he's about.

I would love to see an Evergrace remake, just to see what they would do to keep that interesting soundtrack alive

FromSoft jank is a special kind of jank. It's a jank of the soul. Something deeply endearing permeates the unsorted heap of dirty and clean clothes that is their catalogue.

Not gonna lie: I'm pretty interested in Evergrace now.

The lack of Enchanted Arms fans in this comment section is really a shame, but it means a whole lot to me that you talked about it. The game means so so much to me because of how me and my Dad played it together during a really hard time in my life and I'm currently replaying it! The characters and the plot and even the horrible voice acting all make me so comfortable and you mentioning Makoto and how he's got his own stuff happening rather than just shifting him off to the side makes me so happy. Him and Mystery Man are my favorite characters and I think that he's just to cool and had a lot going on behind the scenes and that it's awesome that he's gay and treated normally, at least as normally as 2006 could have. Again, Enchanted Arms is lovely and I think more people should play it, and I'm so happy that you spoke about it in a more positive light!

Seeing ANY video made recently that talks about evergrace makes me so happy

Ever grace,+ chrono and ffx ost reminds me of the times I spent with my brother who has passed. We spent hours trying to beat evergrace. That opening stage. RIP matt miss you big bro

Fromsoft are a great example of why I absolutely hate the modern gamer. Because we force developers into little boxes and only allow/support them to make certain games, we miss out on some weird unique shit.

Thank you for drawing attention to From Softwares extremely diverse and fascinating back catalog, because while I love the Soulsborne games to death, these older games deserve a lot more recognition. From Software always took really big chances with their games, and even when they didn’t always work out, you could still tell that a lot of love and care went into making them. Their reach exceeded their grasp more often than not in their early days, but what they lacked in experience and budget, they more than made up for in sheer heart and ambition. An amazing video as always, keep up the good work.

At least there was a little Armored Core in the video... even if it was mostly about it's kickass OST... The franchise is so full of depth and tech, you can jump in to any installment of the franchise and you will get a challenge. It's so good...

Evergrace, I WAS 5 when I saw it on a videogame magazine, it was called the "Future of RPG's!"

holy shit. EVERGRACE! I've been trying to remember the name of that game for seriously fifteen years. I somehow owned a copy on my ps2 and all I remember is that ear-worm song at the beginning, and something about the weapons being strange, and that the opening stage was very orange and autumn-colored. That has NOT been enough to look up the game lol, until now!! Thank you for finally reminding me! I cant believe it's a Fromsoft game. But I remember being so confused by it back in the day, so that makes sense 😅

I remember playing Evergrace as a kid and being scared of the experiment looking monsters. I bought it once again when I was around 21. Great game, never knew From Software made it. Good to know.

Believe me dood, you've played much harder games than dark souls or demon souls

Man I just vibe with your thoughts on video games so much, I feel like you've got a really great philosophy on appreciating the weird unknown stuff and I hella appreciate that. Watching your vids makes me wanna start working on my own game, since a lot of the stuff you cover is just so damn interesting. That stuff about taking inspiration from games like these really resonated with me.

My mom absolutely loved the Kings Field series. It was the only first person game she ever liked. I remember spending many hours after school watching her play. Unfortunately she got a real sick last December and can't even hold a controller anymore, I'm going to have to find our old disks and PS2 and play for her.

ThorHighHeels: "I don't like dark souls" too hard. Plays Evergrace... I Love this shit!!! THEN YOU'LL LOVE DARKSOULS!!!

FWIW, Motoi Sakuraba is also a self taught musician who didn't learn traditional theory. (Dark Souls composer)

I miss weird games. Even weird games nowadays don't feel as truly surreal or weird as some of the stuff I'd find in the bargain bin in the mid 90's. I had Tecmo's deception 1 as a kid when it first released... that was some shit for a kid man.

20:23 That song from AC:FA is called “Precious Park” if anyone else was wondering.

Kota Hoshino is my favorite video game composer of all time; I've been following his weird works for like 15 years and I am extremely pleased to hear someone talk about him.

This negativity spiral concept makes a whole lot of professional criticism (in every art medium as far as I can tell) totally bunk. People seriously lack any amount of patience, it's frustrating.

i LOVE !!!! how frequently you pause your monologue and allow the viewer to vibe out with whatever game/media you are describing. SO important. this is an absolute pleasure to watch :)

Your video encouraged me to play through Ever Grace. It was SOOO GOOD. Thank you!!

I loved enchanted arms! So good to see it on this list, I had no idea it was from software who developed it.

The only games I think that can match Evergrace is Baroque (both versions), Drankengard, and Panzer Dragoon II Zwei . Also, the Evergrace OST gets shit on unfairly. Kota Hoshino is an absolute beast of a musician and has such a varied discograph.y

Man, this type of content is my vibe. It''s like a shitty documentary on a very specific topic, where you put a lot of attention into it but at the same time don't care that much about it. I dunno how to describe this better, but your videos are awesome.

The Evergrace OST is one of the most offensive, but intriguing soundtracks of pretty much any game made. I love it.

RIP Otogi Two of my favorite games and everyone forgets about you.

I always get excited when I see a ThorHighHeels video pop up in my notifications! Sexually.

Damn it man, I really liked Enchanted Arms! Me and a friend of mine were playing it together and we were trying to find them secrets and such! Man 14 years have passed? I am old...

Composer: "You find my methods unsound?" Me: "I don't.. see a method.. at all.. sir." Composer: "hm :)" (walks off into the shadows enigmatically)

I remember owning Evergrace when I was in Middle School. I found it for $12 at Blockbuster. Somehow I didn't find the fact that it was so cheap alarming.

I just want more Armored Core, sure there have already been 15 games, but it hasn’t peaked yet damnit.

you dont know how long ive waited for you to talk about evergrace's music lmao its unironically one of my favorite soundtracks

20:23 for anyone wondering it's called Precious Park from the Armored Core For Answer OST. I love weird shit like this it reminds me of GITS SAC or Cowboy Bebop.

Ngl That opening song for Ever Grace sounded like some Vaporwave lol

3D DOT GAME HEROES GANG

One Hour of highheel's voice. Finna nut!🥜

It took me about 30 minutes of intense mental work and I almost went crazy but I finally could recognize the song that plays at 32:02 as the song from the second stage of Super Mario Land 1 for Game Boy. Now I can go to sleep. Anyway, awesome video man

Dude, i just found your channel and i immediately felt in love. The documentaryesthetic videos you have is something i never found in any other place. I fucking love strange unknown games and franchises that are sitting on "nobody's domain". Thank you for the vids buddy.

“Mysterious jogo” ah, I see you are a man of culture

Echo Night Beyond is still one of my favorite horror titles to this day. The Echo Night series itself is wonderful but Beyond really took it to new heights.

this ever grace seems like all the prototype design ideas for dark souls but without the aesthetics (which would be king’s field)… how wild

Man I got enchanted arms from blockbuster as a kid and spent so much time trying to beat in the one week slot. Eventually having to cave and just buying the game a while after I had to return it, and this really brought back a lot of memories for me. Thanks for the nostalgia trip!

I love these old From character models and animations. Everybody looks like they want their MTV.

I love how many descriptors you gave for Evergrace echo their modern titles. Theyve had such a trademark for so long its impressive.

IDK IF YOU’LL EVER READ THIS DUDE BUT THANKS FOR BEING ONE THIRD OF THE REASON I GOT INTO EVERGRACE I SPENT THE LAST SIX MONTHS OF MY LIFE TRANSLATING THE EVERGRACE NOVELIZATION INTO ENGLISH BEST USE OF MY LIFE EVER

I've been playing Lost Kingdoms 2 recently and it's been a fascinating ride. Both of the Lost Kingdoms games feel so different from what I'm used to with Fromsoftware (I got to know the studio with Dark Souls) and it's really charming. And uniquely janky sometimes. Also still very engaging without being balls to the walls hard.

From Software invented Vaporwave with their OSTs

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart! Fromsoft is so much more than "Those guys that made Souls games"! Personal top 3 are 1. Another Century's Episode 3 (JP only ) 2. Metal Wolf Chaos and 3. Otogi 2!

I have Otogi on my og xbox, and it's one of my favorite games of all time. Once you get used to the controls, they feel quite seamless, and everything about the game has such a bizarre vibe, it really does feel otherworldly. I know it's impossible to emulate at the moment, but Id honestly recommend buying an old xbox just for that one game, it's really surreal.

I've always liked Lost Kindoms music mostly the first one the most. Like the music for Ruh Arok temple is amazing. Its eerie and beautiful.

buying goods at palmira I actually really like Hoshino Kota's music though, even ^that song. It really does feel like he started to get a grasp of what he wanted to play by armored core even if it still sort sounds weird.

I only just now showed up here and the ending statement about Fromsoft retrospectives all hyperfixating on the "buildup to Dark Souls" throughout FS' back catalogue instead of appreciating all of the weird and unique quirks each game brings to the table has won me over instantly, you got yourself another sub.

This is easily one of your best videos. I've watched it so many times because it's paced so well and goes so many interesting ways. I love AA games and appreciate how you appreciate em. You're really getting into your groove in a profound way dude. So happy to be a patron. Eagerly looking forward to what you've got coming up!

This video portrays exactly the right mindset you'd need to get into Souls; I'm not sure what the hesitation at the beginning of the video was about.

I loved Lost Kingdom 2, I wish I still had my copy.

It would really be fun to see you take on the Armored Core series seeing as it's so...well EVERYWHERE in From's catalog except how it skipped this console gen in favor of Souls.

Babby's first piano roll sounds like it's trying to be a dance/techno track, not a real piano.

"What game looks like this? SOUNDS like this?" Off the top of my head? Morrowind.

The music at 16:28 is "Armored Core for Answer Someone is Always Moving on the Surface" took me a good 30 minutes to find that because i thought it was in the armored core 4 soundtrack playlist and it's not

18:25 theres a boss in elden ring that looks exactly like this dude

"The Makoto Love Omelet, accompanied by the pinkest of pickles" You weren't joking.

I really enjoyed the section on Kota Hoshino's music. It'd be a great comparison between Evergrace and Lost Kingdoms 2, as you can hear how he really reined himself in for some slow tempo and coherent tracks in the latter. All the atmospheric clunky gameplay vibes are still there though, so I would highly recommend anyone here who hasn't played Lost Kingdoms 1 and 2 to go do so! And then throw in a bit of The Adventures of Cookie and Cream OST in there too for some more analysis, it has the same kind of instrument-tempo clash but on a sillier level. Kota Hoshino really makes some stellar grow-on-you music. I can't stop listening to Sunbeams Streaming Through Leaves On The Hill (plays at 2:16). Am I saying all this because I am incredibly biased towards LK and Cookie and Cream? Yes! Thank you for the video!

Don't worry, Souls difficulty is pretty overblown. They're punishing, sure, but the games are not that hard. You should check them out if you have the time!

I never knew just how familiar I was with FromSoftware until about a year or two ago. The first time I recall recognizing the brand name of FromSoftware was with "Demon's Souls" and the first "Dark Souls" when all my friends were gushing about them. From there, they were always just the "SoulsBorne" devs to me and it stayed that way for many years. But at some point, I found out that, wow, FromSoftware was behind the "Armored Core" series as well. I've played a couple entries and, yeah, they do actually share a lot of similar design philosophies despite being very different kinds of games. Some time after that, I finally decided to look up their development history and I was surprised to see that I recognized a number of games and series, many of which I've actually played when I was younger and enjoyed: "Armored Core" as already mentioned, "Lost Kingdom", "Evergrace", "Another Century Episode", "Enchanted Arms" most recently, etc. I was kind of blown away that FromSoftware had such a strong presence in my gaming history growing up and I never realized it. But really, I can't say I'm surprised. Ever since "Demon's Souls", "Dark Souls" definitely, that ended up being all they ever focused on making for many years. While I'm glad that they finally managed to find overwhelming success, it's disappointing to see how badly they've railroaded themselves as well. "SoulsBorne" is what they ended up being known for and that's the only thing their fanbase wants from them. Sucks for someone like me who doesn't like "SoulsBorne", like at all, and did enjoy many of their past games and series.

I got evergrace from a Sam's club when I was 13, definitely had no idea what I was getting myself into but that music stuck with me for life.

This is a masterpiece video. Thank you for pouring so much effort into this. I'm a lifelong From Soft fan and must say you nailed everything I love about their games. It's a shame they've relegated themselves to making Souls endlessly forever. Also yeah, Hoshino Kota and Frequency are amazing. But I'd never heard his Evergrace OST. Wild stuff.

Gonna re-post because youtube ate my comment: So, for anyone watching this that's confused as hell about Evergrace's story: The Goddess of the continent that the game takes place on is "The Mothe of All Things" (arguably the main """antagonist""", probably more responsible for the plot than Morpheus. She's not really evil in the way that we in the west would interpret.), and is responsible for the cycle of death and rebirth that all things go through. She's only referenced a few times in game, including by the priestess that you meet in game, Merida (who is EXTRA mysterious because her Story Codex entry got fucked up by the english translation of the game and was replaced with a copy of Darius's, good job guys). People born with crests are chosen by TMOAT to continue this cycle (which usually means fucking things up, which is why everyone is deathly afraid of them). How they go about doing that and the powers that the crest bestows upon the user varies from person to person. Sienna was born with a crest and was tasked with "purifying" (destroying) Reuibane, however the court scientist Morpheus kidnapped her son Trandin and brought him to a pocket dimension (The Land of All Ends, that flower field that kinda looks like the final boss area of Blooborne). After, TMOAT awakens Kryslis (that glowing bird thing) within Sienna and closes off Reiubane from the outside world so it could be purified (and fucks with the flow of time within), but Sienna doesn't want to leave her son in what's more or less purgatory forever, so she attempts to rescue him under the nose of TMOAT. Darius was brought to Reiubane after the events of Forever Kingdom (the prequel) by Sienna as a way to distract Morpheus so she could save her son. However, Sharline shows up somehow (it's never explained in game, one of the two novelizations for the game suggest it was done by Darius accidentally when Sharline was about to be killed by assassins from Morea, a village that their village of Solta was at war with). Shit gets fucked up and in saving Sharline she becomes unable to resist TMOAT. By the time Darius and Kryslis meet up, she's a shell of her former self (in game it says that Kryslis doesn't fully obey TMOAT but wasn't really Sienna either), and only exists to direct Darius to Morpheus. The events of the game ensue and you get to meet the surviving members of the Reiubanian empire, such as the former king (the old man you meet at the beginning of the game) and the next in line to the throne that Sharline meets in the human research facility. Once both paths are completed, Kryslis and Trandin get geeked by the MC's, and Sienna uses the last of her dying power to make sure that they both get to safety. Most of this shit isn't explained in game because it's a fucking incomplete mess that clearly had a ton of cut content in order to make the PS2 launch window. A few topics are touched on, but that requires collecting all weapons/monster logs/items etc and going into the gallery in the main menu to unlock the Story Codex, and a ton of other stuff that would make the game more of a complete narrative was put into the mentioned official novelizations (the guy who did the art for one of them does the art for the Japanese covers of Game of Thrones and it looks sick). While the game is just fucking dreadful to sit through, I still adore it. There's so many elements in the game that we would see refined in later FromSoft games (such as a cycle of death and rebirth in a dying land) and the atmosphere is so uniquely alien in a way that kinda reminds me a bit of Morrowind. For further reading, check out : /boards/197244-evergrace/68448582 on gamefaqs for a writeup on the story codexes.

am i the only person who genuinely liked the king's field series. i played them them all multiple times over the years and even played them all back-to-back once. each time was more fun than i remembered and my understanding of the lore and context of the series grew with it.

I'd like to note that the Track "Trans Am" is from Keiichiro Segawa an not from Kota Hoshiro, but damn what a killer :OO thanks for the recommendation!!

What I found so funny about that horror game was that the slow speed made you look so calm even though I could tell you were nopeing out of there.

I hate the way that souls games are portrayed, they are not super punishing or hard, if you survived older from software titles new souls game will be a breeze to you

I watched this video last night and I swear on my life I went to a flea market today with my mom and they had a copy of Ever Grace for $10. I snagged it immediately

Evergrace and Eternal Ring fascinate me. I had the former when I was a teen and hated it then, but I have an appreciation for it now. Eternal Ring is like a much more accessible and light-hearted Shadow Tower and I really like the battle system.

Evergrace is just such a underated game i remember spending hours on that shit as a kid

what mysterious jogos these are

Dark Souls is way less hard and punishing than you think man. You really should try it. You played harder and more punishing stuff on your channel already

Evergrace was such a strange, unique game, I've loved its quirkiness since I was a kid. Incredibly janky to play as an adult but the nostalgia keeps me going back to it sometimes. The soundtrack (as controversial as it is) was what really made it such an immersive experience for me. I even have Darius' crest symbol tattooed on my right hand. Fond memories of that clunky mess of a game.

My dude, I first saw your God Hand video a year ago and got a real kick out of it, but left it at that. Now the algorithm gods have blessed me with reccs to your channel again and I AM LOVING IT

Ah, come on, Mr. Highheels, you'd be able to beat Dark Souls. The beginning is a bit harsh, because there's only one real path you can take, but after that there's infinite ways to cheese your way through (summons, OP weapons, guides) to make it not primarily challenging, but just an interesting world you want to explore more and more of. Don't deprive yourself of experiencing Dark Souls at least once.

FromSoftware struck pure gold with the Souls series, and so people just kept wanting more and more of that gold. These early FromSoftware games are crusty as fuck, but I really like this type of crust, and I want more of it.

Very interesting, you can see themes, enemies and ideas that made it into the souls games.

Is no one going to appreciate the absolutely hilarious landing of the punchline starting in 20:56 ?

You Digimon World 3 is basically a from soft game basically maybe

Oh come on, you ignored Shadow Tower: Abyss. Try it. It has fan translation for a reason.

Chromehounds was awesome. Had a persistent pvp war going on and in depth constructio mechanics. Lucky I got to play it.

16:52 as somebody who frequently listens to Djent, this sounded just fine to me

A really great game I think you might like is Frame Gride, it's a Dreamcast exclusive by FromSoft and it's a fantasy-mech game with magic and traditional swords and shields, it's very JP. Original JP onry but it's been 100% fan-translated. has a fairly fun multiplayer I've managed to trick friends into playing with me.

"I've never played a Souls game but Bloodborne is exactly the same." K...

Fromsoft early games have this Kenji Eno vibes, which im grateful