I'm sorry, I'm just completely baffled. You want to give it a try. The reason reviewers like the game is because of things that you are removing from the game. The tension, the surprise, the mood, the feeling of victory, the triumph of surmounting an incredible challenge. You are breaking all of it and can't seem to understand why critics rate it highly.

You guys complain about this, but, jesus, some of the greatest games of all time were always a case of repeating the game over and over. Case in point, Contra, tetris, super mario 3. It's the same thing.

I'm sorry if I can't understand. You think the game isn't good, but it's interesting. I just can't understand that. It's such a contradiction.

Again, sorry. I am just not going to agree with you. It's not about the game itself. It's the entire mentality that the gaming community has gotten used to nowadays. Rejeuvenating health, insta-saves, chechpoints, dying-boosting-health, endless lives, gamefaqs, etc etc. It's something that has turned the industry from actually getting your money's worth and experience out of the game, to churning out an endless "beat x game as quickly as possible so you can buy another game and beat that".

Again, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be offensive to you. It just hurts to see the gaming community in this state.

I like the game but i had to do a ton of grinding in the beginning Phalanx was easy but every other boss since has been tough, except the tower knight he isnt too bad. I only killed like 5 bosses. What i am most dissapointed in and it maybe im just not far enough into the game yet is serious lack of gear upgrades. so far all i have found armor wise is the basic class gear. My weapon is just the one i started with but upgraded. Does more and better gear choices come later in the game? but overall i like it. And hope to complete it.

That is NOT what it is at all and you are skewing the OP or your own unmentioned experiences to support your idea. You took the most supportive argument you could find, but look above. 1.Died once. 2.Opened strategy guide. Your inclination to bend the truth to fit your argument is really perturbing, and I am really embarassed for you and your obvious spin. You talk about my "e-machismo", and "caveman psychology", and call me a beta with something to compensate for. What a joke. Even casuals don't use guides.

Obviously if you spend 10-20 times really trying to beat something and just know that you're missing something. Use a strategy guide. I do not blame you. Some games have problems with linearity and would take hours to figure out what you are supposed to do. Jumping to the conclusion that you need a guide before even really trying is a shame, a damn shame. Far too many gamers now use guides with everything and use them as a crutch, if they can even be considered gamers.

Actually i would be able to beat the stage, thats like saying "If you remove enemies from a level you wont beat it"

How about the enemies i killed stay dead? Why do they need to come back?

Can you imagine if CoD only had veteran mode and people said "Well use your brain and take your time through the level, This game doesnt baby you through it", Your right it flat out kicks you in the balls and laughs at you.

Ok so why dont they just make it so anyone who isnt a super dupe "1337" warrior cant use the weapon with one hand? Who would not want to block? 

That is why any popular game is good, because there simple to play and not over complicate shit. You think Call Of Duty is even in the same league as Operation Flash Point? Shit no OFP doesnt "Baby" You... 

If this was anything other than a RPG it would of gotten a 4/10.
 

there's some crazy ass gear later on. You're not that far in yet.

You can check out the wiki, but it's better to find them on your own.

The enemies come back because it sets the tone for the game. If you're not afraid to die, then you're not experiencing the game. Just play something else.

Casuals may not get a strategy guide to look through while they are playing. Just because the guides are often detailed and from beginning to end doesn't mean that they're following the guides from beginning to end. When they are stuck yeah. Casuals definitely do seek outside help for sure. Asking friends for help, or on online forums, looking at a guide online to help them pass an area they are stuck on, etc.

Strategy guides are such a taboo subject within the gaming community but considering the size of GameFAQs, it's clear that a lot of people are doing it. And not admitting to it.

As for whether the OP was quick to use the guide or not, whatever, video games are supposed to be entertainment. If he finds DS more enjoyable that way, then fine. I've used a guide for building Diablo 2 character builds. Is that really wrong? If you make an ineffectual build, that's countless hours down the drain. Countless wasted hours spent on empty leisure that could have been saved for a better experience. I mean what's the point of investing all that time when nothing results from it? To "become a better gamer"? As if that has any real importance in the real world. Gaming is something you do to relax, take a load off.

You only live once, you are mortal, you have a finite amount of time in this world. You do what you enjoy, why should macho posturing people on the internets tell you how to enjoy something? So when I see gamers go on this thread (I'm not singling you out, this seems to be a general theme in this thread.) and flex their e-peen saying, "oh you just suck at this game. don't suck and you it won't be repetitive" or "this game punishes stupidity" or "getting help is for pussies", it just makes me ashamed of being a gamer. Gamers are seen as anti-social nerds for a reason and threads like this show why.

For some reason I didn't mind the repetition.

I'm a gamer that's pretty low on patience, and I often put games permanently on the shelf if they make me repeat a section one two many times.  The idea of replaying the jail section in Rogue Galaxy even once was enough to make me go, "Fuck it."  I was never able to beat any of the Mega Man games for similar reasons. 

But Demon's Souls is different.  It's not like other games, where when you die, you're brought back to the last check point, or you end up at a "Game Over" screen, forcing to reload your progress.  In Demon's Souls, when you die, your progression hasn't changed.  Any items you have found up until that point remain on your person (well, phantom, once you've died), and any important alterations that you made to a level remain (unlocking shortcuts, saving crucial NPCs, etc.).  Even the souls (experience) you gained during that level remain, though trapped at your bloodstain, and if you don't make it back there before dying, they are lost forever.  But if you do make it back successfully, you have potentially doubled your total number of souls!  In Demon's Souls, death does not mean starting over.  Through death your body is simply taken away, with your phantom being summoned to the Nexus.  Even in death, it felt like the game was still progressing. 

Because it was, with From's ingeniously nefarious auto-save system ensuring that every fuck up you made was permanent lol.

Of course, when returning to a level, all enemies have returned (excluding bosses), and on the surface this is quite repetitive.  But this isn't a bad thing by any means.  It allows for easy grinding/farming (if you even needed to grind), and the combat system makes fighting similar enemies repeatedly a less tedious experience than in other games.  Enemies are a learning experience, and you can face each enemy each time in a myriad of ways, from changing up your weapon type, to simply utilizing more parries and less blocking.  This provides a decent amount of variety, and all it takes to make substantial changes to your method of combat is a few different presses of R1/2 and L1/2.  Simply perfecting your timing and your maneuvering can change the outcome of a battle substantially, and knowing your enemies is as vital as having nice stats and good equipment.  The system is incredibly simple yet surprisingly deep, and probably the most realistic "hack n' slash" control scheme I've experienced.

Demon's Souls pulled me in like no other RPG or action/adventure ever has.  I sunk ~100 hours in the Asian version, getting all the way to the final boss when my ps3 died back in June and I lost my save file.  What did I do when I finally got my ps3 back?  Started it all over again.  I ended up beating it yet again, and got halfway through the game a third time on New Game +.  I only stopped because the North American version was on the verge of release. 

The North American verison killed the momentum I had going though.  I got a third of the way through it, but I was torn between the two versions (all my stuff was in the Asian version, while all my friends were playing the NA version) so I just kinda stopped playing completely after awhile.

Anywho, the game isn't repetitive in a manner that is normal for games.  And while yes, the game's design may have got on your nerves, that doesn't make it a bad game.  :P

I didn't do any grinding at all, I just used skill, second chance, and a lot, a lot, a lot of herbs and spice.