It is not controversial to say thatDark Soulshas been one of the most influential game franchises of all time, even spawning its own genre called ‘Souls-likes’. From the original game to the third installment of the trilogy, the Dark Souls series had a wildly fascinating development!
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However, due to the secretive nature of FromSoftware, many stories and fun facts about the series' development has gone under the radar of most players. But fear not, because we have gathered the most interesting facts about the development of Dark Souls.
10Dark Souls Was Supposed To Fail
A little-known fact about the original Dark Souls is that prior to its release, the game was on the brink of extinction. FromSoftware executives had very little faith that the game would perform well at all, some even expecting it to flop!
Perhaps this was for the best though, as since Dark Souls was in such a bad state, FromSoftware execs had no problem handing the reigns over to Miyazaki. And, well, we all know what happened after that.
Due to the sprawling, diverse nature of the Dark Souls Trilogy, it should come as no surprise that the series dealt with some serious amounts of cut content. From enemy types and items, to entire sections of the map!
Famously, the entire Upper Cathedral from BloodBourne has been discovered in Dark Souls 1’s game files, meaning at one point it was supposed to be in the game! We can only wonder what monstrosities FromSoftware cooked up for us, but decided to scrap before release.
8…And Lots Of Content That Was ALMOST Cut
With so much on the line before the release of Dark Souls, it was vital that the game was incredibly well-received. This is why certain aspects of the game almost didn’t make it to the final cut! The most notable example is the infamous area ‘Lost Izalith’, which explains why the area generally lacks polish.
We can’t mention cut content without bringing up the mighty story of the iconic “Praise The Sun” emote. The emote was famously scrapped when studio executives claimed the emote was too boring, but somehow it snuck its way into the final game! It makes you wonder if the emote never made its way into the game, what would stand today as the Dark Souls symbol?
7Level Design Was Taken From Real-World Architecture
It is fairly common knowledge that the level design of Anor Londo was heavily inspired by the Milan Cathedral. But what many fans don’t realize is that nearly every area in the game drew innovation from real-world locations!
For example, New Londo was inspired by Mont Saint-Michel, France, the Duke’s Archives were deeply inspired by Hogwarts, and the list just goes on and on! Miyazaki has been credited with stating, “Real things contain a combination of influences, ideas, and information, that I wanted to use this approach for Dark Souls.”
6The Mimic’s Attack Was Based Off Professional Wrestling Moves
What was once speculated has now been confirmed: the Mimic’s infamous, and deadly, kick attack was based entirely on a famous Japanese wrestler named Super Tiger. The attack iconically sends the player flying, causing an objectively hilarious death.
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The famous move even has a name: Super Tiger’s Rolling Sobat. While Miyazaki has never publicly confirmed his love for wrestling, this addition to Dark Souls seems to make it pretty clear.
5Miyazaki Did Not Play Video Games As A Child
The Dark Souls trilogy is frequently praised for its ingeniousenemy designand creativity, and perhaps there was a reason for this! As a child, Miyazaki was not allowed to play video games. In fact, it wasn’t until college that he first picked up a controller. Miyazaki instead spent his time with adventure books and tabletop RPG’s.
What this means is that Miyazaki undoubtedly had an incredible imagination, as his forms of entertainment required it of him! This active imagination certainly carried on into his professional career as a games designer, where he has created some of the most iconic, (and downright horrifying,) enemies of all time.
4Dark Souls Was Based On King’s Field’s Formula
TheDark Soulsformula has become so popular and unique that it has spawned an entirely new genre of “Souls-like” games. But where exactly did this innovation come from? The answer lies in King’s Field.
King’s Field was FromSoftware’s first mainstream game, that really swung for the fences in terms of new gameplay ideas. In an era where Final Fantasy-type RPGs ruled the gaming scene, King’s Field was released with its brutal difficulty, dark dungeons, and intense exploration. These are all key aspects that seamlessly made their way into the Dark Souls franchise.
3Sony Struck Gold… Almost
Demon’s Souls, the predecessor to Dark Souls, was owned exclusively by Sony. However, due to the general lack of success of the game, Sony let FromSoftware slip away from their fingers. A move which, I think we can all agree, was a very poor one.
This exact reason is why FromSoftware was forced to create a “spiritual successor” to Demon’s Souls as opposed to a legitimate sequel. However, it isn’t exactly a controversial statement to claim that the stark differences between the two games are few and far between.
2Dark Souls Was Almost Called What?
Just like most video games, Dark Souls went through an abundance of name changes before the creators settled on Dark Souls. If you take a look at the scrapped game titles, it would seem that Miyazaki was quite upset about their inability to simply title the game “Demon’s Souls 2”.
A couple of names that simply didn’t pan out were Dark Lord and Dark Ring, two suggestions that don’t sound too bad on paper. However, the real hilariousness takes place with the very original title suggested for Dark Souls: Dark Race. Doesn’t roll off the tongue, does it? Keep in mind that these games are developed in Japan, so there is a clear language barrier.
1Dark Souls Made FromSoftware
Prior to Dark Souls' release, FromSoftware was a relatively unknown and unappreciated company. While Demon’s Souls found success after it was ported to America, the company still struggled to get the proper funding it needed, and they were far from a household name. However, these days, things are entirely different.
After winning multiple game of the year awards, and with Elden Ring being universally hailed as one of the greatest games of all time, it is safe to say that FromSoftware is a powerhouse. FromSoftware’s success has come from putting out fantastic games year after year, there is no doubt about that. But most would agree that without the work of Miyzaki and his ability to take risks, FromSoftware might have currently been making King’s Field 5.
