In the trailer that shows pre-grafted Godrick, he is TINY. He’s incredibly frail, thin, and weak-looking, and you can just about see that on his small head and remaining torso. When he fled Leyndell he was able to hide among women and children and nobody batted an eye. Compared to the other demigods he must have felt so out of place and inadequate, completely powerless. He hid inside his castle when Radahn marched through Limgrave to siege Leyndell, he begged for mercy after being completely humiliated by Malenia after an insult, and tried to seige Leyndell himself only for it to go so horribly wrong that the only soldiers left in his army are exiles and sellswords. And still he harbors dreams of one day returning to his home under the golden rays of the Erdtree.
Funny thing is that Godrick only wants to be powerful to be respected by his peers, while Rykard wants to be powerful to one day surpass (and eat) the gods, Godrick only grafts the limbs of powerful tarnished who happen to die while trying to kill him while Rykard eats his most powerful and loyal allies, and yet Godrick is seen as worse than Rykard
@@hasturthekinginyellow5003 I dunno, Rykard is seen as pretty bad. Godrick is viewed as detestable and pathetic, but Rykard is a sworn enemy of Leyndell, and notably the only demigod Morgott actively attacked instead of just defending the city. Rykard also burned his minor Erdtree and renounced the Golden Order. Godrick is grotesque, but Rykard is blasphemous.
@@hasturthekinginyellow5003 Kenneth Haight mentions that Godrick and his men go on “tarnished hunts”. So according to Haight, he actively hunts tarnished to obtain materials for grafting.
@@zeche8477 Only thing I get from all of this is that all the demigods are fucked up except for Radahn and Godwing, I mean, even Ranni is fucked up because she worked with Rykard to kill Godwing, AKA worked with her cannibal half brother to give her other half brother a fate worse than death. Every single Demigod we meet is fucked up and has done truly despicable things, all of them, except Radahn and that's arguable.
John 3:16 New International Version 16 For God so loved(A) the world that he gave(B) his one and only Son,(C) that whoever believes(D) in him shall not perish but have eternal life.(E) 🙏!
"Honestly, Godrick's nothing more than a jumped-up country bumpkin. Lord? Don't make me laugh!" The difference between his Grafted self and the 'real' corpse that we see Gostoc stomping on after the battle show you just how much he had built himself up over the years through grafting. Really, Godrick calls himself the Lord of all that is golden, but he's just a damn monstrosity by the time we meet him. But then again, I suppose that he did have a big legacy to live up to, and probably saw this way as the only way to achieve it. "Forefeathers one and all...BEAR WITNESS!!!"
The funny thing is, he could have just gone into incantations instead. Y'know, using Erdtree and Dragon Cult incantations and going full archpriest. He only started grafting because he wanted to be like Godfrey, when he should have looked to Godwyn instead.
Once the clothing and jewelry were removed it jumped out to me just how much of an old man he really is - grey hair so thin at the top as to be nearly gone, pale skin on his original flesh and sickly mottled everywhere else to the point some parts look like they're rotting, eyes so mismatched. He and his ambitions are on life support. It's a mercy just as much for him as it is for Limgrave to defeat him.
If Godrick was in a classic RPG, he'd straight up be the final boss. Descended from a lineage of godlike beings, the strength to cause earthquakes with just a few stomps, create hurricane force winds by flailing his axes, the ability to forcefully merge other beings onto himself and gain their power? Hell, all the major bosses in ER can stand alone as final bosses.
They all have incredibly cool concepts but honestly there’s so little build up for any of them I feel the true potential of their impact was never realized
@@私はクソな中国人です Yeah, that's one of the problems in the Soulsborne series. In order to keep the aura of mystery, they have to sacrifice build up. I wonder what a soulsborne game with classic rpg storytelling would look like. We'd know more lore but less people would care probably
@@pillarmenn1936yeah, having more buildup for characters would be cool. At the same time, I definitely still like the vagueness of the content and having to piece together the lore myself. Talking about lore with others is one of my favorite parts of being in the Fromsoft community, and I think that their style of storytelling is very cool. On the other hand, I do think that Elden Ring built up Godrick quite a bit at the beginning, with NPCs like Varré telling you to go to Stormveil and Roderika talking about the horrors of grafting. On my first playthrough that did make me fear Godrick, as Roderika described him as a "spider" which made me think he was actually gonna be a crazy spider monstrosity (I don't have arachnophobia but still would be a creepy design). She talks about how all of her men got grafted, and when going through Stormveil I saw the grotesque bloody grafting leftovers hanging on hooks, which definitely sent a shiver down my spine. The payoff was worth it too, as Godrick is awesome and I love his fight. Anyways, I think they did good hyping up Godrick. I do kinda wish they did more like that for some of the other bosses. Like maybe the beginning of Liurnia could have had more NPCs like Thops talk about the might of Renalla and maybe even detailed how powerful she was in the war with Radagon in the past or something. Miriel does do it a bit but not enough to make me be intimidated going into Renalla's fight like I was for Godrick. I do think Malenia kinda gets a subtle buildup too, since if you pay attention to Jerren's dialogue about Radahn, he talks about how Malenia caused Radahn to be in his current, insane state. And after fighting Radahn who is an absolute beast, one could only imagine how strong this Malenia lady could be... Of course, that's the only bit of buildup we get with Malenia unfortunately, so not really enough to constitute anything. I mostly got buildup to Malenia by just hearing about other people struggling with her lol Overall I definitely think that having some more buildup for the main bosses would be cool, since they kinda did for Godrick and I think it helped make him and Stormveil Castle as a whole really memorable. Still, I do really enjoy Fromsoft's style of delivering lore and storytelling indirectly and relying on players to piece things together. Theorizing about lore is a lot of fun and tbh I don't know how some people don't care about lore; it's what makes Fromsoft games interesting imo. Half-joking there, I know everyone has different tastes in what they get out of these games.
Godrick is one of the most well-written characters in the whole game, in my opinion. On one side, he is a despicable human being who has committed one of the gravest sins and had no limits when it came to brutality, even going as far as replacing his own torso with that of a Troll just to carry more grafted limbs and dooming whoever was captured by his men to an unspeakable torment by ripping their legs and arms away while they were still alive. But on the other, he is just a poor and crazy old man, last living member of the Golden Lineage and who has been humiliated and put to shame by everyone (I mean, he escaped Leyndell by hiding among the womenfolk and Malenia forced him on his knees to beg her for mercy). He looks up to his ancestor Godfrey, but knows that he shall never live up to his name, and thus resorts to grafting in the hope of finding in it the strength he never found in life.
Reading the story sword by the storm gate, it made me realize that we players are much like him, absorbing the strength of others and grafting it onto ourselves with the power Melina gives us to become stronger.
Godrick is a severely underrated character. In a game with such spectacular bosses as Radahn and Godfrey, it’s easy to get overshadowed. But Godrick immediately became one of my favorites.
Yeap, Godrick stuck in my head the most out of all bosses. But From really nailed both fights and visuals of this game. Renalla is a great mix between Deacons of the deep and Crystal Sage. Godfrey is just a dude with an axe and his fight is S tier John Cena. Rykard's size and arena makes you feel completely helpless, yet awesome at the same time. And the ost here. Damn 🤍
Maybe it was because i leveled my gear and all, but from Godrick onwards i just speedran through the game because none of the other bosses felt as intense as his bossfight. The music, voice acting, story, design, it all stands out so much, it's all so remarkable. The other bosses were glorious, mighty or powerful, but Godrick is just an abomination that was the result of a man who wanted to be stronger at all costs. He's a failure and a monster, and it was an honor to take him down.
despite his grotesque appearance, there’s something oddly charming about Godrick and I cant help but sympathise for him; alot of us all have felt we hadnt lived up to the expectations of those we admire, and to see a man deform himself so in a desperate bid for strength-
I hope there is a DLC that focuses on the horrific art of grafting, it was such a quickly discarded theme in the main game, it's hardly even mentioned after stormveil, but it has such incredible potential.
From soft likes to add really tough optional large bosses in dlcs like midir and manus. I can totally see from making a gigantic grafted monstrosity for us to fight. Dragon parts, fire giant parts, maybe pieces of cealid birds. I think I colossal mess of grafted thing together would be cool.
I had the same thought, I'd love to see some created monstrosity that has had thousands of things grafted to it, even if it was gimmicky they proved gimmick bosses can be good with Rykard. It's such a perfect opportunity to draw from previous games too, i can imagine a foggy castle with demons souls inspiration, abominations throughout the land, perhaps a mysterious character like Aldia at the center of it all. It would make a fantastic standalone area to explore after beating the main game.
Grafting is only one facet of the larger theme of creatures conjoining in the game. It's the in-your-face part to clue you in to the more subtle ones. Rykard could be seen as grafting by attaching himself to the serpent and eating people. Radagon and Marika could be seen as having grafted their entirities together. The Flame of Frenzy ending has everything being melted and welded into one and the Law of Regression describes this as a natural instinct. And most grandly, the Erdtree is grafted onto the old Greattree.
@@darrjulian8939 I'd personally like to see something unique done with grafting rather than just a blob of "please use range against me for the love of god"
When Godrick rips the head off a dragon, cuts his own arm off, and shoves the stump into the dragon’s neck… which then of course comes alive and spits fire. That’s the most Heavy Metal thing I’ve ever seen in a video game. I was like WTF, good lord that’s fuckin’ awesome.
I was wondering if Godrick's ability to graft limbs was tied to the power of his rune (after all, it's called the "Anchor Rune"). It would make sense that it allows him to "anchor" anything to him, and would explain why he keeps some form of sanity while the scions go mad (much like how the "Rune of the Unborn" prevents you from becoming a mindless "sweeting"). It would also explain why we don't see any grafting-themed character after Limgrave, appart from the roaming scions)
With all the new information about how easily Marika's line was able to melt and meld into the flesh of others with the Jars, it really puts Godrick's grafting abilities into perspective
I love how his feet are fashioned from hundreds of human feet stuck into a larger troll foot to take on the general shape of a dragon or lion’s foot. Simply incredible boss design.
To me, it looks like he first attached his torso to the neck of a troll torso, reinforced/decorated the rest of the body by grafting human limbs, then had to construct legs by grafting lots of human legs together because the troll torso didn’t have legs. Addition: I just realized after watching again that one of his legs is made out of human arms. That’s why it looks like a weird plant thing that’s in a digitigrade form as opposed to his other leg that’s made out of human legs.
One of his knights once told Godrick that a bit of body building might help him overcome his inferiority complex and it all went downhill from there. Heh...
I love that from just his face you can tell how unhinged he is. One eye perpetually squinting, the old messy locks (but that still crisscross braid because he is a royal), the crooked crown and crooked sash across his chest.
It's a shame there weren't more rejected grafted enemies around. It's clear he is doing a lot of grafting but with so few scions and nothing else, it's kind of weird.
I felt the exact same way. Castle Stormveil and Godrick are arguably some of the best in the game, but that doesn't mean they reached the potential of the setup they created. In my opinion, Stormveil should've really played into the grafting motif with unique enemies and hidden passageways that told the story of Godrick and his descent into madness. Godrick himself should've utilized grafting into his basic moveset more; technically this is achieved by the 2nd phase, but before that, he's really just a large, axe-wielder enemy.
There's so many of them though. The very first thing you fight is a grafted scion lol. And they're in a bunch of catacombs and dungeons. Like how many more do you want???
Finally, a good reference! As a fanartist, this man is just... such a clusterfuck to draw, with so many necessary shortcuts. I still don't know _quite_ what I'm looking at half the time, but lord does it help. Thank you for you work! You're a real one
Am i the only one who think there's still some lingering majesty into him? In the cinematic I always felt like I was faced with a noble, the way he holds himself, speak and also design, all is lost when he graft himself the dragon, becoming animalistic in a sense driven by fear and despair
@TheDemonKingDemise that's part of the draw I think, you expect a noble-king then you hear the country-accent and it makes his regalness all but dissapear, makes him seem like a minor-lord at most, he also refers to himself as the lord of all that is 'golden' but his soldiers all wield bronze and brass, Godrick just has a very pitiful/washed-up feel to him... which is what most likely led him down the grafting path wanting to improve himself via other peoples strength and merits.
When they showed Godrick in the commercials long before the official release…. I had no idea it would be a boss despite the obvious retrospection. I’m so glad they kept the lore so hidden; it made this first fight between he and I so truly epic and majestic. I’ll never forget the first 100 times I tried to read his move set; all the while marveling at his grotesque nature. Then when he pet the dragon I remembered the clips of him with a Dragon head and I openly sighed and went “I was wondering when that was gonna happen”
@@bungiecrimes7247 this giant guy with 100 arms, 2 great axes and a fire breathing dragon's head for an arm shouting hostilities at me is pretty cool. must be a merchant or something
I wish that we had at least one or two other cutscenese of this madlad. Would have loved to see him watching you enter the castle from a tower or something
He may not be the most difficult, but he's one of the best bosses in the game purely for the impact and atmosphere. THIS as the first major boss many of us faced next to Margit? Absolutely crazy. Set the tone for the rest of the game.
As easy as it is to hate him (and you would be justified in hating him, given all that he's done), it's hard not to pity him when you see what he's got going against him. Think about it, he's the runt of the litter with the Demigod world against him. He has a claim to the throne and by medieval rules he is justified in going for it, but now with a war he has much stronger people to compete with which, no matter how he goes about it, he couldn't ever dream of comparing to. He's an old man who wants to be like Godfrey, is barely a member of the Golden Lineage and definitely spent his entire life knowing that he can never compare or hope to obtain any achievements his family can with ease. As much as I am glad to put him down and save the innocents of the land, it is hard not to pity the guy.
He ain't a saint but compared to most of the other lords you fight he most certainly ain't the worst. I mean a majority of people in elden ring are wicked. Even poor Radann to an extent.
@@nightrain1121 I did say to an extent. He didn't curse an entire land for selfish goals but Melania simps still might call him egotistical and arrogant. People have to really stretch to call him a bad person though.
@@bungiecrimes7247 yeah it is a stretch, him and Morgott are the only two that did not have selfish/evil intentions out of all the demigods of the shattering.
This joker definitely stands in front of the mirror flexing his shitty muscles while either not being able to look his reflection in the eyes OR sometimes kissing it when he thinks he's alone
Godrick is probably my favorite boss of all Elden Ring. He is a corrupted and tyranic king that worship dragons. The way he boasts and despises the tarnishes even being an elder abomination himself is one of the things that reminded me of the decay and melancholy of the souls saga. He makes a statement while other major bosses just fight and remind the player about his name (cringe).
i never could actually listen to the glorious boss themes this game has due to either battle noises or gamer noises so its awesome to hear the beautiful composing that Elden Ring has throughout the adventure so thanks!
Seeing this really makes me wish Godrick had burned/torn off his cloak during phase 2. Imagining him like this, all inhibition lost as he shouts, "Bear witness!!!" is peak Souls character design.
I feel like Godrick was the magnum opus project for somebody who left Fromsoft on bad terms. The trailers made him and grafting seem like major themes of the game.
Elden Ring has a lot of of cut content. Probably, Godrick was much more important in world's story. Maybe he even was planned as final boss, who knows.
People might not like you but you were given a rough hand and you were able to go beyond yourself in your thirst for power and I can respect you for that. Also your track is one of the best and your passion is crazy and pure.
Godrick was such an amazing early boss for as much shit as he gave me during my first mage build, the VA's delivery of his lines was fantastic + chilling so I had no qualms about fighting him over and over. It's stunning how gnarly he looks underneath everything--most of which you would never see in-game. It also puts even more perspective on just how small his real body is. The first time I saw it I wasn't even entirely sure what I was looking at because he was just so much smaller, he was almost unrecognizable before you see his face. Fromsoft's always had a great way of building up characters and Godrick is definitely a masterclass in it. Godrick may be despicable and evil, but he's also very pathetic (especially after getting an understanding of who he was up against)
The really sad thing about Godrick is that he is the only one demigod still trying to become the Elden Lord and mend the land and the only one we are really forced to kill. After I realized that Margit precence in Stormveil Castle wasn't due to us, but to him wanting to keep an eye on Godrick's progress and evaluate his threat. And why did Godrick resorted to grafts? He is "maidenless", he can't grow stronger to challenge his siblings in the same way we do. He has already tried to face Radahn and Malenia and berely made out of it alive... and still he kept trying... and died.
It would’ve been awesome that during the 2nd phase cutscene, the flames burned off his clothes, exposing all the disgustingness, making him look even more like a monster
They aren't as creative as you might think. Godrick had to he seen by someone being forced on the other side ov the veil to make someone put it into a video game. The fact that there is a being that looks exactly like Godrick should terrify the sheep.
I really wish there was a Grafted Limbs weapon. Like a pair of arms attached to your wrist so you could punch further. I don't think it would be a good weapon, but I think it would be cool
his rune is far from being the best one... it certainly is great at low levels, but by the time you’re level 80 even, if you’ve been leveling your health and stamina, a Radahn’s rune will give you better results, and the amount of health you get with morgott’s rune by the time you have 50-60 vigor is insane. meanwhile, at that point, godrick’s barely makes a dent. “oh, but it buffs all my other stats too!”. if you’re still worried about getting a 5 point buff to every stat at higher levels then you have a really, really bad build. if you are at end game, use radahn’s or morgott’s. the buff the only stat that gives you good returns at that point. you’re wasting your rune slot if you’re still relying on godricks at end game.
@@mkv2718 op was speaking lore. Its one of the two great runes called the "anchor ring" (whatever that is) and is found at the center of the Elden Ring. The other one is Morgott's.
This guy is basically the Kaiser Wilhelm II of Elden Ring and the lands between. He has this huge legacy of imperial glory and military prowess on him, and he desperately wants to live up to it but he cannot. He was born a noble but he is seen as inferior by his peers, and likely has a great deal of envy towards his fellow demigods. Just like how the real Wilhelm II was always seen as inferior by his British cousins, and may have had an Small Man complex because of it. Godrick is desperate to be taken seriously and achieve his ambitions but nobody does take him seriously. So he resorts to extreme measures, just like the Kaiser, to gain some sort of prestige. But in the end, it is his downfall.
Such a wild an enigmatic character, but his ego lead him down a path of madness, his weakness lead to his challenge of Melania shattering what little confidence he had, and now he's a shell of his former self, whatever that may have been. A pitiful character, but above all I would have liked to see what would have become of him if he had been dealt a batter hand.
it looks like he grafted himself to a giants body and just layered flesh over the gapping hole, not the mention the limbs look like he took a cupple biceps and just linked them together but he did them wrong so there all bending in the wrong way. I really wish they explained grafting in more detail, when was it discovered? Who was the first grafted? Is Rykard grafted? Could Godrick connect his whole body to a dragon and not just the head?
I wish I had recorded my first reaction to this absolute unit. I felt my jaw drop, even got hit a few times just because I was staring so much. Amazing boss design and still my favorite!! Edit: I fuckin hate the face closeups lol.
