Was it Good? - Eternal Ring

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The Forgotton FromSoftware RPG.
The PS2 launch title no one played.

Overshadowers by its big brothers Dark Souls, Bloodbourne and Elden Ring, poor little Eternal Ring gently slips from memory into obscurity.

But did this PS2 launch title actually have hidden depth we all missed?

Join me as we replay Eternal Ring, one of the strangest RPG's.

Thanks to the Patreon supporters as usual who keep the channel alive!

[HEROm]

Fun fact: The composer of Elden Ring's main theme, Radagon and Elden Beast (Tsukasa Saitoh) was also the composer of this game

[MaitreMechant]

this "was it good" series has become one of my favorite thing on youtube

[incap]

Well, the concept of a psychopathic child with godlike power learning the value of human life and what to be sad is, and becoming a better person for it is actually very interesting and wholesome for a Fromsoftware game.

[alexlabelle]

I'm married to probably the only person who counts this as one of their absolute favorite games but I'm not kidding when I say my wife has played through multiple copies of this game and cried happy tears when we found it on the PS4 store. I've never seen anyone else actually even talk about it (even when the PS2 first came out) so seeing it pop up here was almost surreal.

[endlesscho]

I never watched anything from this creator before yet I just spent over an hour watching a video about a game I'd never played. This was truly well done.

[NachozMan]

I love how the Essence of every FromSoft game bleeds into each other, like looking at a family of very different people and ages but you can tell they're related.

[risel]

_"The King treated the man of unknown identity, as one of his vassals"_
*Manbaby Soulus:* You're my friends now, we're having soft tacos later

[verafeiyd]

"There's no morality, there's no sense, there's no desire. It just IS, and wants you to not be." Phenomenal writing man, I adore this description

[anonymousmcanonymous]

I'm sure someone already brough that up, but the idea of the kid suddenly growing up in a few seconds was reused in the Bloodborne DLC, where the Orphan of Kos starts crying like a baby, but his cries grows into a mature man's cry by the end.
I never played Bloodborne but I remember that vividly because the first time I heard it, it was just that scary.

[Konpekikaminari]

I have to hand it to Soulus's child VA, before the line "This... this feeling... Sad..." he absolutely _nailed_ that concerned confusion of a child first encountering death
It was honestly heart wrenching

[televisionist]

I can't believe he skipped over "IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN D--" in the village attack, the cutoff always makes me chuckle.

[amandapage]

I remember getting this game when it first came out. I unwrapped this game the Christmas it came out, my dad acted so pissed that the "Guy at the store gave him the wrong game" He took it from me and said he was taking it back with the receipt. I was so heartbroken and then I unwrapped the PS2 and I was completely overjoyed. I remember asking my dad how he got it all and he said that he waited in line in freezing october to get it lol along with the PS2. It was great too because I remember my mom getting so mad at him for "Picking up an extra graveyard shift" on his day off lol. I still have this game, the original one I got SO many years ago...damn this video brought back so many great memories!

[DolusVulpes]

Since you didn't mention it when it happened, the winged demon guy you fight after getting the fire key is the same corrupted expedition captain that killed the new expedition team earlier, just fully transformed, which is why he says "you followed me". He acts as a small bit of foreshadowing of the reveal that happens with Lyla and her father right afterwards.

[zedxcu]

Honestly I really like the sort of small implicit character development at the end, Cain just chilling with Solas and all that. We need more final bosses that mature and turn into friends in games

[loopyloon]

For some reason, when I saw Soulus mulling over Lyla's death, I suddenly imagined the game with better voice acting, I thought about how Soulus would sound if he was genuinely upset at learning what mortality was.

[joargthebard]

Fun thing, the "analog" option in the game isn't referring to the sticks, but rather the d-pad. If you turn it on you can push it softer to walk

[Mwarrior]

as someone who always used to read game manuals cover to cover (and honestly misses them today), this game is amazing.

[name_redunded]

This game looks like proof of concept for the ancient city. They saw what worked and what didn't with the new PS2 technology and made a great game after

[honeyalmondfritters]

As a souls fanboy, I thought this game would be another in their list of "janky but interesting" titles everyone forgot about. But, wow, that storyline is something else. From has always been good at their stories, but Lyla's death teaching Soulless empathy is excellent. It was only with the death of someone he actually cared about that he learnt that there would be others whose deaths would carry meaning for someone else who cared about them. That is just mesmerising. Justifies my From fanaticism even more. :')

[juankamehameha]

Seeing this and then seeing how far we've come with Elden Ring fills me with determination