King's Field (1995)

Thank goodness; I knew playing through this series enough would lead to a light at the end of the corridor.

Beforehand I was plagued with obtuseness and dead ends, but King's Field III changes little of the original formula and rids any problem I had with important things being too hidden. The multiple endings allows the good ending to be obfuscated but still allowing the game to be completed, and the open air levels give a little more waggling room for strafing.

Keys and items feel like they are progressively given to you, and aren't hidden behind obtuse places you'd never catch (except maybe fire magic, and sword magic still eludes me to this very day). The bosses and the final boss don't feel ridiculously overpowered, and there's a sense of comfort in knowing normal progression through the game isn't punished as much as the previous two games.

So far, From Software is really starting to show their polish through this title that would soon resemble the Souls games. Difficult, but fair combat, rewarding secrets, and design that leads to challenge but not complete frustration is the name of the game here.

Ah, the original King's Field was not too long ago for me, as the game was hellbent to make even aspects of the game necessary to beat the game so hopelessly obtuse that I could not actually get them to work. What of its sequel?

For something that came out in a very short time after the first, the second is a large improvement. Textures look more interesting (still repetitive), enemies are more detailed, and the design is less of a simplistic dungeon format and more of a wide-spread nonlinear world much like the Souls games that would proceed it, with passages everywhere and mysteries abound.

And dead ends. If there's anything King's Field II does that King's Field is better without, it's introducing entire areas where the player is forced to warp backwards (without actually discovering the warp yet, forcing them to resave). Sword magic is still a mystery, though the final boss (hard as it is) does not require anything more than a set of spells and sword strikes. Phew.

The game provides an irritating amount of backtracking and hides everything essential to enjoying the game (meaning your enjoyment is relative to how much you've looked through a walkthrough to find everything), but is a step in the right direction and at the least isn't insultingly obtuse. Just very obtuse.