Dutiful hero or villain? I loved listening to this! - - Links: / @marcomeatballvods (keep up to date on games im playing) / marcomeatball / discord / marcodmeatb. . / marcodmeatball ♪♫♬👊linktr.ee/marc... 👊♬♫♪
I loved this! so powerful. Agonizing! Also: www.twitch.tv/marcomeatball to watch my playthrough of Sekiro after I complete Ace Combat 7. If you don't want to watch there you can check out the gameplay vods at: www.youtube.com/@MarcoMeatballVods !
I love the contrast between Sir Alonne's prestige versus fume knight's malice being shown by not only their soundtracks but also from one being at the top of the tower and the other being at the bottom
Fun fact about Sir Alonne some people may not know: He is depicted as a Samurai of sorts. And because of that, if you defeat him without taking a single hit, his death animation changes. Instead of falling to the floor in a generic death, he instead commits seppuku and stabs his katana into his chest.
Easily the best boss fight in Dark Souls 2. The arena, the design and the music all come together on this one. He does a little bow in the beginning of the fight and commits Seppuku if you defeat him without getting hit. Truly a man of honor.
@@methanoI legit not any more janky than any other from soft game. Each game has its own unique frustrations, ds2 is just extremely different than most the souls games.
@@TheSagelessRanger From what I can tell, its your first souls game isnt it? You are blinded by love for it, incapable of seeing its faults. It is absolutely more janky than any other titles, unironically DS1 has better mechanics than it.
@@methanoI no I played dark souls one first, and I've also played all the souls games. I am just looking at it with the correct perspective. I never said it didn't have faults, but it's also very much worth playing. Though getting the scholar of the first sin edition is required imo.
This is Pure Yuka. How is it that she presents the song, giving a great spatiality. How the different instruments and the different singers gradually acquire voices. So that, finally, we have an apotheosis where everyone mixes with each other giving something that surpasses everything seen. I love Yuka. God, I get so emotional listening to these tracks
Best character lore wise in ds2. Probably the only person who wasn't corrupted by power and showed honor. From the slight bow at the beginning of the fight to him taking his life to preserve his honor at the end of the fight, sir alone was a pleasure to fight.
It is heavily implied that you are playing as Alonne's previous master in his boss fight. Alonne left his master when the king began to become corrupt in pursuit of his goals. The king's ideals became opposite of Alonne' s and so the Leader of the guard and the man who helped the king become who he is now left, back to the towers were he first swore his allegiance. The king felt betrayed and hunted Alonne down. If you take no damage in this fight, Alonne commits Seppuku rather than rejoin the king. In the next room, lies the king's first throne, a reminder of the king that Alonne swore his allegiance to. Everything the king lost in persuit of his goal comes rushing back to him. He hangs Alonne's armor up respectfully and returns back to the keep, now sinking into lava from the weight of his sins. The king tosses himself from his keep, into the rising lava, and is never seen again... Such a great story and Alonne's song always sounded sad to me. This is a battle between to friends, one singleminded (the king) and the other reflective (Alonne).
Always getting goosebumps when the slow section starts. I always think that Sir Alonne while being a formidable warrior he ultimately wasn't able to fulfill his duty in this foreign land. He is a samurai in the truest sense. Capturing all these emotions is so amazing
CLICKED SO FAST. One of my favorite tracks and where Yuka already gained my attention big time. At this point I just think some people hate on DS2 for the joke, but it does sadden me that some just won’t give the game a chance simply because it’s widely considered “the worst souls game”. Although I do agree that it is the weakest of the 3, I still adore DS2 and wish people could form their own opinions and try the game.
I personally find 3 the weakest. It's fun to play through and smooth as butter, but part of that removes the skill of having to conserve stamina because it recovers so fast anyway.. Not to mention instead of Dark Souls 2 which actually plays like it's far in the future and the world has largely forgotten about "the Lords", Dark Souls 3 just throws all of that away and says "yeah but, what if Dark Souls 1, again?" Will definitely say that the DS3 DLC's is probably my favorite sections of gameplay and story for the trilogy, but overall I think DS2 has the better evolution on the lore and mechanics (Adp and soul memory notwithstanding)
@@ExileTwilight Introducing new, shitty mechanics is just part of the series tbh. Adaptability and soul memory *do* suck for sure, but 2 introduced so many big and little good mechanics and features while trying to innovate that should be praised as well. People would be more willing to give attention to them I'm sure if 3 didn't disregard every single one of them except a couple. I'm very convinced that if Dark Souls 2 got a proper remake that let them add the polish to the game that it needs from going through development hell, it would easily be a contender for the best one. (although to me it already is)
I hope someone reads this because i honestly feel like Alonne's theme is like an argument between two person which would represent Alonne and The Iron King disagreeing, parting ways and then duelling, ending up in Alonne's defeat at the hands of the corrupt King.
Sir Alonne was an eastern warrior, and the most loyal knight of the Old Iron King. He was his counselor and taught his knights the ways of the katana. With his help the King became the ruler of what was once the kingdom of Alken, and created an empire of Iron that he himself found a way to produce to the point of creating an entire castle put of Iron. But, when he began to be taken by greed, Alonne left, seeking lands unknown, and in the King's now growing fear of usurpation he personally went after Alonne, slaying him within his tower. This is the memory you experience, and what do you find at the end? A simple wooden throne, of what was once a little known, unestablished king with high ambitions.
I simply cannot put into words how much I love everything about Sir Alonne. Genuinely one of the best swordsmen characters, and he doesn't even speak a word in the game.
The somber tone is fitting because we’re seeing this in the perspective of the Old Iron King. Fighting your oldest friend would be tragic and sad, literally Anakin vs Obiwan moment
One of the most magnificent songs in the game. DLC music is pretty awesome in general (even the freaking gank squad got a great theme even though they definitely don't deserve it).
I love sir alonne theme, and its funny to me that people talks more about DS2 than about DS3, even after so many years, even after Sekiro and Elden Ring, people still make theories and reactions to DS2, that is awesome
As the first song in any of the Souls series with lyrics it lead directly into Bloodborne and Elden Rings more epic voiced tracks and it hit the ground running with this banger. It was so wild not to have any other song like it at the time. It works so well. Thankfully songs like this became the norm from Bloodborne onward. As for the fight itself it was my favorite for a long time. It was a true duel with a warrior at their peak. No state of decay... no fall from grace... you take a trip to the past to fight a master in their prime.
Fun Fact: this is one of the songs that quite a few people believed had actual Latin lyrics. Even if it's all but proven false, it's still interesting to see how people took what they heard and fit it into telling the character's story.
For me, Dark Souls 2 remains the favourite among all Souls games. While it did some things worse than other entries, it also took many risks which I feel paid off so well. More interesting covenants, absolutely the best NG+ system out of every game, power-stancing, and, while it's not for everyone - it had the most varied and interesting PvP scene by far. And all 3 DLS areas are probably the best ones in any Souls series, too (yes, even the Reindeers of Doom section is fun for me, fight me!)
Dark Souls 2 is easily the worst of the souls games with many flaws, it is also however the only Souls title to have gone through "development hell" with Tanimura having to literally put together a full functioning game in a span of about 4-6 months from the dumpster fire that Shibuya left him.
I like to think that thematically, DS1 and DS3 happen at the end of an Age of Fire, but DS2 happens after an Age of Dark. The world tried to move on from the tired old story of Gwyn and his people, building up new stories in new lands. That ancient curse would not be denied, though, and as we play we see the archetypes of the original story impose themselves on the new world, shoving the souls of Fire into its major players and twisting reality into the old patterns by the authority of the Darksign. It's a neat way to explain the spacial errors, the narrative chaos, and most importantly the abundance of new and unrecognizable lore present in the game. Thinking of it from this angle makes a lot of the issues feel less grievously bad, though of course nothing in the gameplay will change from how you perceive it.
Sir Alonne's ost is surely one of the best ost I've heard, and one of the most satisfying bosses I've faced, a perfect mix between the composition of Yuka Kitamura and the developers of DS2, you can feel the heaviness of the blows of sir alonne and his incredible agility, these two components are felt perfectly in the composition, a pure and rare marvel which has no place in dark souls 2, such as sir artorias in DS1 they are too far ahead of their respective game
The DS2 DLCs were some of the best experiences I've had in a souls game, peaking at Sir Alonne. Besides the run back to his boss room, my favorite experiences in DS2 were my attempts at Sir Alonne and trying to defeat him without taking damage, him leaping backwards and quickly dashing forwards with rising slashes and learning his patterns to successfully counter him coupled with the amazing music is truly the peak of DS2 IMO, especially for me as a big fan of humanoid/warrior style bosses in souls games. Also I like that you included sections where you read a bit of his lore and watched a bit of gameplay to get a feel for him, I think doing those sections in the future would be great! Also don't know if you are still covering Monster Hunter music but I would love to see you talk about the original Gore Magala theme or MH World's version of Rajang's theme, they are up there with the best honestly, especially Gore Magala's theme, and if you are up for another Alicorn style analysis with 3 different tracks then technically Gore Magala's theme is connected to Chaotic Gore Magala's theme and Shagaru Magala's theme with them all being the same monster just in different forms
Dark Souls 2 was my favorite, and still has some of my favorite customization! Being able to infuse special or boss weapons with elemental damage really allowed for some neat builds THAT and the 3 crown DLC was some of my favorite content and stories and brought Yui Tanimura up as he salvaged the game in development to the point that he got to co direct Dark souls 3 and Elden Ring
Don't think I ever clicked on a video faster than this haha. I absolutely love this fight, the character, the location, the lore behind him, and the music. Definitely my favorite of Dark Souls 2.
I was too busy getting my ass kicked by Sir Alonne to notice he had music playing. People told me Fume Knight was the hardest DS2 boss but Sir Alonne killed me more than any other.
I actually really like 2 personally. I was hoping I would see a track of it on the channel one day. Sir Alonne is a really nice fight, lore story, and has one of the best tracks in the entire series I feel. The composers for From are freaking amazing. Another Ds2 track I think you'd be interested in is "Aldia, Scholar of the First Sin". It is it's own song, but I feel like it's similar enough to Gwyn's theme that I think the comparison is meant to be made. But sounds like the tracks inverse in tone and meaning. I would be super interested in hearing your take on it.
I loved this track! I didn't really like Dark Souls 2 as much as the others in the From Software's souls games, but I was excited to hear Yuka Kitamura's compositions in this game, since it was her first time working with them. I was amazed and satisfied to hear this and recognizing her style. In my opinion, Sir Alonne's track feels like the evolution twist from Dark Souls' music style to the Dark Souls 3 style
This was without exaggeration, my favorite theme from ds2 and im genuinely sad that not all fans of the series got to experience this character and his tragic ost. Really glad you got to experience it and are introducing new peoples to it❤
As an old time dark souls I’ve never tried 2 cause of the bad things I’ve heard, I’ve been slowly playing it with it’s up and downs for about the last month and got stuck on this man and while looking up for advice I found this channel, it surprises me people are still checking out this game around this time like me, it’s nice to see.
There once was a young king of a small kingdom but this king had great ambition so he conqured the nearby kingdom of ven. However, he soon revised that his kingdom was falling until a stranger came. This strange possed a peculiar blade that people could not tell if he controlled it or it controlled him. He plegged his service to thus young king. Though his council and power the kingdom flourished once more. However the king became obsessed with the secrets of iron. The warrior then left in disgust of this king. However, the king could not bear such a slight against him. He took his army and attack the home of these warrior and his followers. The king confronted the warrior and where once he could never land a blow on him the reverse was true now. The king defeated the warrior, however the warrior committed seppuku then let the king kill him. Then the king went into the side room and found a small throne to remedied the king where he came from
A ronin swore loyalty to an unestablished lord and proped-up his kingdom to unprecedented power to become the Iron King. But when the corruption of this power turned his lord into a monster, Alonne could stomach it no longer and ventured to a new land, or so they say... In truth, the Iron King could not let such treachery stand. They clashed in a bloody conflict to decide the fate of the kingdom, but when the Iron King stood victorious over his old friend. He saw naught, but his old throne tucked away in Alonne's chamber. So there's a theory that since you fight Alonne in the memory of the Iron King, but you never see the Iron King, suggests that you're playing the role of the Iron King.
I have yet to play DS2 but this song really speaks to a blending of enduring nobility and keen furiousity. This song sounds like how a well made sword looks like. Beautiful, terrible and magestic in it's capacity and intent to kill you
Sir Alonne is by far one of my favorite tracks not only in DS2 but the whole series. Just the sheer beauty of the strings and the choir is enough to put it up there for me. Love this track, love this boss fight. Also, kinda unrelated, but you should really listen to Wo Long Fallen Dynasty's OST! There's some amazing tracks in there. If I were to recommend two for videos they'd be Mightiest Of Men and Warrior's Requiem.
I'm so glad I came across your channel. Your ability to discern and communicate the emotional story telling from the Soulsborne soundtracks is incredible. You put into words what I can only feel when listening to/playing these games. Really hope to see more analysis on soundtracks from Soulsborne! If you're open to suggestions, I'd highly recommend the Demon's Souls Remake sound tracks. That game has some outstanding musical scores.
This song actually made me rated Dark Souls 2 even higher in my heart, in addition to it being my first Souls game. It is also one of the first pieces Yuka Kitamura worked for From Software (iirc, feel free to correct me on this one). You can also hear her signature violin and choir work that would continue into her later pieces like Lady Maria, Slave Knight Gael, and Lichdragon Fortissax. To me, it is a crushingly melancholic piece. Especially the second verse of the melodic part you mentioned. The vocal there felt incredibly painful and usually happen right before halfway point of the fight if you go at him effectively. Numerous waves of emotion hits you (aside of his stupid fast dash, lol), the frustration of the state if affairs, the pain of betraying his liege, and the despair of seeing his 'friend' fell from grace. Afterward, when the melody catches up from the verse, you as a player realise that you are not battling against the knight of the old iron king. No, you are battling against the true iron king. The one behind their glory, fame, and might. I am not sure whether the attempt earlier in the year where one youtuber tried to transcribe the vocal in this song into latin is genuine or not, but at the very least, their prediction on the very last line of the song stuck with me everytime I hear this piece. "The (Old Iron) King has parted, He departed."
I was wondering why it seemed familiar to me (I've heard the track before even though I've not gotten to this fight yet) and you listing Slave Knight Gael was when it clicked. It's very similar to his theme. I really need to properly get into DS2, but I'm working on completing Bloodborne and DS3 first.
@@GeoGyf True, but it'll be my first of the 3 Dark Souls games that I'll finish. I'm already done with the main game and have just the 2 DLC to do plus the Soul of Cinder fight at the end of the main game. DS1 and 2 haven't clicked for me how DS3 has. Part of that is because Bloodborne was my first proper FromSoftware game and I'm used to faster combat. I'm also nearly done with Bloodborne (Orphan of Kos and Laurence to kill in the DLC, and just a small bit of the main game left).
@@SolaScientia I think its better if you play DS1 then, then DS2, then DS3. You will enjoy it more, because you will have the sense of progression both in story and gameplay. Otherwise you will get lost with DS3, in both ways (story, gameplay), the builds and options are much more diverse. Bosses in D3 are way more varied as well. So its better if you work your way from DS1 to DS3, you will be able to appreciate the games more if you play them in order. The learning curve will be easier as well. Because contrary to what you hear, each game (DS1, DS2, DS3, BB, Sekiro, Elden Ring) have different strengths/weaknesses and there isnt really a clear cut winner.
@@GeoGyf I'm enjoying myself just fine playing how I'm playing. I'm not lost in DS3. I know the lore even without having playing DS1 or 2. As I said, I'm nearly done with both DS3 and Bloodborne, so I'm well aware of the bosses, regular enemies, and so forth. Just because I'm playing them out of order doesn't mean that I understand them less or appreciate them less than those who've played them in order. As for the learning curve, I'm calling a bit of BS on that personally. I've played enough of DS1 and DS2 that the slower combat in both drives me nuts. I prefer the faster pace in DS3 and that they took some hints from Bloodborne with the speed and some enemy design. I do know that each game is different. I'm not new to gaming or FromSoftware games. While I'm nowhere near to the end of Elden Ring, I've still spent about 40 hours in the game and adjusted to it as well. Adjust enough to know I prefer the other games to it, but I'm also fatigued of large open world games just a bit at this point. So yeah, thanks for the advice, but I've been playing these games for a while since I do play games slowly and I also have multiple games going on at once to avoid getting burned out on any particular game.
I love Dark Souls 2! In my opinion it's the most fair of the Dark Souls games which makes it easy to replay! In terms of the story and world I'd say that it's not only unique but also underrated. There's just so much content that even if you don't like it as much as the others I think it still deserves a play🔥
M. Meatball, I do express to you my gratitude for this review. Although not being sung but made artficially, DS OSTs often are mind driving choirs, Interstellar-level pieces of art ! Well done !
Sir alonne is a mentor of greatness. He traveled the land, helping those he deemed worthy masters rise to become noble leaders. One such master was a man called the Iron king. Who gained his name from the vast mountains of iron he built his castle on. But although the king reached his position with Alonne's guidance, he forgot this and became greedy. Paying less and less attention to Alonne's council and spending more of his days harvesting all the Iron he could from the land. Seeing the king's greed, Alonne left. And what we fight is merely a memory of the knight, left behind in his armor. But realk talk-Alonne demands respect. Fighting him is a dance of memorization, reaction times, and patience. Get greedy and you will get put in the ground. Much like the Iron king.
Ah yes, sir Alonne of the Polished floor. He was just sitting there after mopping the floor and while it's still wet, you step onto it I remember it was pain to try to skip the whole area from bonfire to the bossfight each run everytime i have to repeat the bossfight
Here's a take. The dlc levels, Brume Tower, Shulva/Dragon Sanctum, and Frozen Eleum Loyce are all three the absolute best levels in any FromSoft game on a structural design and conceptual basis. Shadow Keep, Anor Londo, Leyndell, Irithyll, Cathedral of the Deep and all the other notable ones are incredible too, but these three are just the pinnacle.
Such a good theme and amazing reaction! I think I never was so interested in such content! I really would like to see you react to some Deaths Gambit OST. Something like Endless or The Avatar from Deaths Gambit Afterlife. Amazing video as always!
This is the song I play when I’m at the end of my workout and I need to push on further. It’s the boost I need to gather whatever strength I have left.
In a game where most bosses have the same reused simple track, Sir Alonne's OST is a hell of a blessing. I also suggest you give a listen to Burnt Ivory King's, it's another amazing one that really distinguishes itself amongst the Soulsborne tracks, in the best way possible.
You really need to give a listen to Burnt Ivory King. His theme and Sir Alonne's are the best boss themes in Dark Souls 2 (in my opinion), yet nobody talks about Ivory King's theme, which is so intense, devastating and beautiful. Anyway, peace!
I really thought I've seen almost all important boss themes on your channel but now that you did Sir Alonne I realized I forgot about DS2. There might not be that many really memorable boss themes in DS2 (at least in my opinion) but now I hope you'll do Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon, which is one of my favorite Dark Souls themes I almost forgot about ^^
I really hope there will be more Dark Souls II here on this channel, because it's my 2nd favourite game ever, and it deserves some recognition and love
Dark Souls II is for me... the most fun in a weird way. I guess it's a nostalgia thing since I started Dark Souls II first before Dark Souls I (just because I'm having a hard time with the PC port LOL). Dont @ me (0-0)
@@roar104 nope, everyone of my friends who tried the DS 1 before Elden Ring but dropped it and after played Elden Ring said that ER is more "opened" for newcomers to the From's soulslike and as an old of the Soulsborne community who finished ER several times - I agree with it. But if you think so, welp, ok.
Of their games, Elden Ring is the most approachable to newcomers and the ability to just run away from fights and explore elsewhere is something that appeals to new players. I personally like their other games more, but that's because I came from those to Elden Ring rather than the other way around. The main take away with Soulsborne games in general is to just keep going. Take a break when you need to, but learn why you're dying. Figure out what works best for you in terms of build, and don't be afraid to try something new. Sometimes simply changing your weapon can be all the difference in making the game click for you. Yes, you'll die a lot, but you're meant to learn from each death so that maybe you won't die the same way again. The Soulsborne games don't give players the luxury of running away from a boss/area and coming back later. You can't do that in most of the games until later on. Well, you can in DS1, but it's your funeral if you go to the skeletons first...
Dark Souls II has some really ambitious mechanics and puts a lot of care into its boss designs. For all that they are mostly dudes in armour, they're dudes in intricate and carefully detailed armour that tells a story about who they are and what they stand for in the story. I've never played it myself, but I'm told the controls aren't the smoothest, and that the ambitious mechanics suffered for it. Also something about pvp?
If I may make a small suggestion... The Burnt Ivory King OST is absolutely gorgeous for me. Ds2 was my first Souls (Yes, I know how people feel about this) and that hero is the one that settled the love I have for this amazing game. It ain't perfect, but it does have it's shining diamonds. Love your content! Keep it on!
