Midir is not only incredibly old, but he's decaying, being devoured from the inside by the abyss. So he's already weakened when we, the player, come along, kick him off a ledge into an old cave, and then follow him down to finnish him off. Midir is wounded and cornered, and as you fight him and weaken him further, he seems to fight even more desperately, like a wounded animal. He even exhausts himself from some of his attacks. Fighting him makes me so sad, he reminds me of Sif.
I am gonna have to disagree on the weakened part , if he didn't contact the abyss he wouldn't have his laser attacks , his abyss explosion , humanity attacks , which basically makes him just another little hard dragon with fu*k ton of hp So I am gonna say that midir is actually in his strongest when we face him especially that he is desperately trying to survive so he uses things like the abyss power when he shouldn't use If there's a boss that applies what you said is placidusax , you can clearly tell he was far stronger than now but he became very old , tired , and lost a head or two
@@fenrirsilver6441 how exactly ? Because he broke his wings ? we broke his wings before the fight so it's not like artorias which we didn't break his left arm before the fight , or are you talking about immortality scales which wouldn't make a difference to the fight other than infinite hp
@@fenrirsilver6441 how exactly ? Because he broke his wings ? we broke his wings before the fight so it's not like artorias which we didn't break his left arm before the fight , or are you talking about immortality scales which wouldn't make a difference to the fight other than giving him infinite hp
@@purehollow weakened as in he was not just fighting us, but also the corruption, in addition to just being very old. Think of it this way, Artorias also got some abilities when corrupted, he was hella strong at that too. However, he was physically broken. For Midir he was just old in addition to the corruption. Still prefer the Artorias story better, but an old and decaying dragon corrupted by the abyss is still cool.
@@unicron004 And Shin Godzilla came after Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo short film by the same director, featuring a God Warrior from Nausicaa firing a purple beam across Tokyo and cutting down buildings in similar fashion.
Midir was a decended from the Ancient Archdragons, since he was raised by the gods and put in charge of defending the Ringed City by eating the darkness of the abyss after millenia he got corrupted. His friend Shira helps you take him down, his battle plays like a very chaotic dance with you dodging claw swipes, lasers and fire.
Fun fact: yuka kitamura plays violin and sings as soprano in most of DS3 soundtrack, and to me this gives the game's music more life and emotional impact. Also, I think this track is a real banger
@Steven Branas there's an interview she had before Sekiro released in which She says She plays violin and sings in the soundtrack. You can tell in both Ds3 and sekiro OSTs (which are the soundtracks She worked on the most) that the violin and female soprano voice are real and not virtual. Also, the timbre of that soprano voice you can hear in those 2 games Is the same Singer. You draw the conclusions :) there's no official statement of what I said in the first comment, but I think it's at least somewhat true and reasonable to think Also, wtf autocorrect Is capitalizing a lot of words
Yeah, the high notes she hits in this song are nuts I feel like once I caught on to what her voice sounded like, I was shocked to hear it in so many DS3 tracks. It’s super distinct and gives the songs such an eerie feel.
You even can hear her Voice out and identificate it in the Chorus sometimes. She peaks (intentionally) sometimes about the Rest. And i love it, she has such a great Voice and Talent.
I killed Midir recently (twice) and his song became one of my favourites The ost is so freaking epic Also Lore time Midir was supposed to eat the darkness(Darkeater Midir) but later became corrupted by it, eventually someone asks us to kill Midir to end his suffering. Hence the pain in the song
You must've forgotten about Godrick, Radahn, Renalla, Ancestor Spirit, Rykard, LICHDRAGON FORTISSAX, Mohg, Lord of Blood, Maliketh, Godfrey, THE FINAL BATTLE. Idk why everyone acts like DS3 is leagues better than everything else when it comes to music. Elden Ring and Bloodborne are just as good.
A lot of Dark Souls 3 soundtracks have this interesting duality between melancholy and this triumphant style. Makes sense, since this is suppose to be the end of the world of Dark Souls, a very miserable world but it's still going out in a blaze of glory. It's kind of beautiful.
Amazing way to put it. The world, dying, the people dying, and the gods, dead. All we are doing is wandering this world, slaying legends, and legends past.
Oh, I've never thought about that. The cave being the place where the pygmy found the Dark Soul. And since they showed the original Firelink Shrine in the same DLC, this could be true.
I feel that this hits in the same way as Lady Maria. There's an inherent tragedy in it, it's grandiose yet sad. Honestly, I like Gael's fight and music more from this game, but this song really makes me feel like I'm releasing this magnificent creature from his duty and suffering.
That's exactly what you're doing. Shira specifies that he isn't corrupted by the Abyss *yet,* so there's a beauty to this tragedy. We're putting him down before he becomes a shamble. He dies with dignity, with his duty intact.
As much of a Mid-way boss as it is , the Dragonslayer's Armour theme is honestly an ungodly piece of work. I would say it overtakes the bossfight it was written for , even. Definitely give it a listen , be it for a video or in your own spare time , your ears won't regret it.
Midir’s music always makes me want to cry. I always get the impression that the character is in deep pain, and that’s what causes their frustration and eventual ferocious anger. That along with the quest from Midir’s friend, which is basically, “put him out of his misery for he is bound by a duty that won’t allow him”. All very sad.
Midir's theme is my favorite soundtrack in the entire series. Midir is my number 1 favorite boss in the series, because I like everything about him, from the theme to the design, and the weapon you get by defeating him is imo one of the coolest in Dark Souls 3.
I put my signature under every word in your comment. This OST that plays during the battle with Midir is so great that I can listen to it for hours and I will not get tired
Darkeater midir's theme is definitely up there from the many times I had to hear it while fighting the boss. His entrance combined with the song is something you just have to see, a really powerful moment showing his might. You mentioning the theme is like a waltz of death is very fitting, because if you have mastered the fight, then it can feel like a dance because of all the precise movements you do. And if you mess up then you will instantly be nearing death. The music getting intense in the 2nd theme combined with his chaotic laser breath just puts you in a state of panic the first time and many times after you experience it.
I don't care how much this dragon beats my whole face in every time I face him, he's my favorite boss of the entirety of DS3. I crave this waltz, and the swaying rhythm. Its like...even though he is way gone and corrupted beyond himself, the waltz is a last ditch effort to remind you that he was once a regal, dignified being.
Darkeater Midir is definitely the best dragon From Software has done and one of my favorite bosses in general. A lot of the points in your analysis were crazy spot on too. The song itself tells it's story very well, but being able to accurately pick up on most of it with little context is damn impressive.
Having beaten Midir with a +0 broken straight sword, his boss fight is absolutely a dance between himself and the player and it simply grows in intensity at the midway point. That feeling of desperation likely comes from Midir feeling his strength waning and is fighting either for his life or for the city he’s supposed to protect, or possibly even the darkness itself.
Why does no-one talk about that _apocalyptic_ modulation in the 2nd phase? Everytime I listen to this theme and it hits, it's like I'm struck with all of Midir's might in a single blow.
i believe that due to the corruption by the abyss Midir has also gone blind, so the violent desperation and aggressive thrashing around that the song is described as is definitely on topic, he is trying his most to get rid of you while being severely degraded from his prime the thousands of years thing is true, as far as i remember archdragons are immortal. however in gameplay you first encounter him... pretty on topic, trying to kill you, but on a bridge and knock him down into that cave in which you must go into to finish him off, its more of a mercy kill. we're not "disturbing" him, we're putting him to rest from an endless life of fighting and being worn off by the abyss
Midir is old, but he wasn’t always in that cave. you hit him in the head so hard he falls into the cave and you have the option to finish the job, hence why he’s so angry to see you(he’s already angry because of the corruption, but now it’s doubled because you bonked him too hard)
Midir has a feral elegance to him. I mean, he was raised by Gwyn's estranged daughter to fight against the growing of the Abyss as the defender of the Ringed City, but has become corrupted. He's also the only dragon you fight that hasn't been technically reduced from his prime, save for a critical strike to the head. He has the sense that you're fighting the guard dog of the gods, except the dog itself also has sapience beyond just fighting.
It’s cool how people can just guess a characters entire background and lore, just by listening to and analyzing their theme. Midir, the ancient and previously proud eternal dragon who was spared by Gwyn during the start of the age of fire. He enslaved Midir and kept him locked away for reasons that aren’t revealed to us at the time. “But with fire came disparity. Life and death, warmth and cold, but most importantly, light and dark”. Gwyn, who bore the soul of light, came to fear his opposite. He feared that the bearer of the soul of dark would come to put an end to his age of fire, his age of light. So he enslaved the race created by the dark soul, and imprisoned them all in the ringed city, disguising their imprisonment as a gift to them by sending his own daughter Fillianore, to oversee and rule them. This, the birth of the human race into this world. Gwyn then cast the original bearer of the dark soul, Manus, into his own secluded prison, where his mind crumbled and he went mad and used the dark souls power to create the ever growing pocket of darkness known as the abyss. No longer being a suitable host for the dark soul, due to his insanity, it broke into several peices and went to his creations. And every human born after that has had fragments of the dark soul passed down to them. The descendants of Manus, bearer of the dark soul, humans, all bear a very small fragment of what remains of the dark soul, all of which have the potential to grow and fester into a new dark soul. So int that regard, he doomed himself, all because of his paranoia, and his fear of loss. So he created a ring of fire, fire that creates light, and he branded the humans with it. The ring of fire, know as the darksign, was meant to act as a prison, containing the dark soul that was a part of each humans soul. But some of it escaped the darksigns hold, so Gwyn sent in Midir and gave him an order. His purpose was to devour the remnants of the darkness that escaped the darksign. Over the course of several hundred generations, long after the fall of Gwyn, the darkness that Midir continued to consume corrupted him, driving him mad and fusing itself with his very scales, becoming a part of him, thus earning him the name, Darkeater Midir. Even through all of those uncountable years, he remained true to his purpose, fulfilling his duty up until the unkindled one comes along and puts him out of his misery, sparing him any future pain. Sorry for the lore script, I probably missed a few things or got something slightly wrong. But here is most of the lore of Gwyn, Manus, the humans, and everything I know regarding Darkeater Midir.
My favorite track of the series. Combines the epicness of Gael with the melodic pain and melancholy of Abyss Watchers/Twin Princes and the result is absolute perfection
I discovered Midir around Ng+5, so this damned (literally) dragon gave me nightmares. I fought him so many times... That violin at the start gives me creeps to this day...
i love how fucking malevolent the strings sound in the opening. it really helps fuel the idea of how corrupted Midir has become over the years of fighting the abyss. also, another great thing about that part is that Midir always start the fight doing thing massive thrashing swipes and breaths of fire, but after his combo, he turns around, AND THEN the strings kick in. they timed the music and attack together so well, and the effect is so amazing and memorable to me.
One of my favorites. Also I do love Dark Souls 3 the best of the 3 games(Elden Ring is the best of all Fromsoft). Darkeater Midir, the last dragon…A dragon raised by the gods and sent away to the Ringed City of man, told you devour the darkness that Man leaked out to prevent it from spreading..Only to be consumed by the darkness and made mad. He is the only True Dragon that you fight in the game as by this point they were practically extinct and he was truly the last, Sin was one in DS2 and DS1 had like five or so but even then they were a dying breed. So there is a sense of sadness for striking down the very last of what was once the only beings that could contend with the gods along with his corruption that drove him insane too. The purple crystals you point out is literally darkness turned crystal which is the corruption. His black flame is also part darkness.
I fought Midir several times already through my speedruns and this fight is one that never gets boring. Also one thing I noticed is that just like the music in phase 2 become more violent, so does his attacks. It really feels like the first phase is a "How dare you challenging me?" while in the second phase Midir notices that you (the player) arr a threat to his life so he's just trying to survive and to kill you even if it means to summon abyss magic, exhausting all his stamina after a spectacular attack and so on. But still, he's suffering from the abyss that corrupted him, but it's hard for him to feel difference anymore after all that years ...
Darkeater Midir's music is to me a waltz with Death. Midir was raised to devour the dark soul. To devour Humanity. After eons of doing so, he's become a grim reaper of sorts. We are the ultimate enemy in his eyes, and we must dance his dance of death if we are to survive.
I think I have to recommend the song "Sir Alonne". In the terms of FromSoftware music, it can be seen as almost a turning point as it brought with it the grandiose scale and orchestra, and also was one of Kitamura's first major songs. It's practically a precursor to the music of DS3, as it varies so heavily from the style set by Sakuraba originally.
Imho, this piece evokes the feeling of great might. The vocals and the violins illustrate how Midir is destroying everything in his path as he's raging across the arena. This is a legendary dragon, not just another lizard.
This fight felt like a dance with the boss for sure, learning his large aoes etc and knowing how to avoid them. This guy was my favorite boss and it took me a good bit to learn but this music in the back helped to set the mood amazingly.
DS3 is my favorite Souls game for music and story, containing an overwhelming majority of my favorite tracks, lore tidbits, and NPC questlines from the series. DS2 will always have my heart for gameplay with powerstancing, though, and DS1 still holds as a great experience for challenge runs with all of the routes that can be taken through it! This track, and "Lorian, Elder Prince/Lothric, Younger Prince" commonly get used in DnD games I run, being absolutely perfect for huge climactic boss fights that are short but heavy
Darkeater Midir is one of my favorite bosses. The design, the music, and the aesthetic, it's all just so beautiful! And of course, the lore around him is really quite tragic. There's beauty in the tragedy of From Software games, it's a very rich experience to really dig into the lore around all these characters.
Oooo DS3 might have to be my number 1 fromsoft game for music. Heard this song waaaaay to much lol. Took me a good 30-40 tries to beat him the first time. Then on next playthroughs usually takes me 2-10 tries :D. But damn this song is fricking awesome. I love how grand, epic, intense and royal it feels. Like when I hear the first few seconds of the song I get an instant image of Midir standing on his 2 back legs spreading his wings roaring and breathing fire. So awesome.
100% my favorite fromsoft theme right here. I love the desperation in phase 2, sounds frantic and bombastic, like an animal that’s putting on one last grand display to fight off the player. Very fitting for midir’s story
Thanks for choosing this track! Burned into my brain from attempting Midir for hours, and my second favorite track from Dark Souls 3 (Abyss Watchers is best). Overall I still would give Bloodborne the crown of best Fromsoft OST, since absolutely all tracks are on that exceptional level, while all other games have so pretty good but not amazing tracks amongst them. Speaking off which: One Reborn from Bloodborne please!
The layers behind the theme get so much better when you understand the backstory to these characters. The Walts like melody with the violin and vocals sometimes almost acting like a Jaws theme fits perfectly for a once royal guardian turned into a maddened and (literally.) blind beast, hell bent on eating the darkness of humanity.
What I also like with Midir is that we can see him before we even realize he's going to be a fight. At the entrance of the Ringed City before you get into pin cushion range, look to the right at a sort of free-standing mountain/bit of rock, and you can see Midir perched on it (or on the side of it) just watching you as you enter the city. As for "who dares disturb my sleep", he's down there because the player sent him there. There's a rocky path as you explore and Midir suddenly gets involved and does the usual FromSoftware dragon thing of flying around spewing fire at the player. You have to get through there and there's a bonfire ahead, but Midir will land and you can go back and keep hitting his front paws and head until he falls off the cliff/ledge. He ends up in that arena somehow after that.
Darkeater Midir is my most memorable boss from DS3. I spent hours fighting this boss with my friends. I memorized all of its attacks, and had the song stuck in my head from how much I listened to it. This might be my favorite Dragon boss in all of the Souls games.
Its been one of my favorite soundtracks from the whole series. The boss fight begins when you land in the cave, it awakens from unconsciousness roars, and then the soundtrack begins, as it does the same move at the beginning everytime. Rampaging through the arena clawing breathing flames and swinging its tail around. I thought this song caught the story behind Midir so perfectly. Never ending combat for the dragon, ever loyal and still so powerful, but tragically corrupted. Loving your reactions man, sorry for binging your videos. xD
Midir is my Top 1 boss from any fromsoft game. I can't explain it correctly, but the epicness in the fight, the sad lore behind this poor dragon who fights alone against the darkness, the such epic music and the difficulty behind it makes it a complete 10/10
To me Midir is this kind of boss that feels like ur not ''supposed'' to kill. kind of like the ancient dragon in ds2 which is a boss that isnt inherently hostile to you, but that u can kill nonetheless. I have killed him once or twice on my own and he really tests ur endurance given his hp pool is massive. Probably one of my favorite bosses in the dark souls universe. having to kill this once noble dragon that is just too far gone to be saved in any other way than killing him really tugged at my heartstrings. btw I absolutely love how much u have covered of the soulsborne franchise and i cant wait to see more!
DS3 most definitely has my favorite soundtrack in the series. It's on a whole other level and that's saying something considering how amazing the other Soulsborne soundtracks are. And it just so happens Midir's theme is my favorite in the series.
Here's the thing about Darkeater Midir: After you've fought him, you realise how absolutely fucking inadequate every other dragon you've ever fought in a game has ever been. Midir reaches into your chest and rips out the seven year old boy who dreamed of being a knight and triumphing against all odds. Midir makes you one hundred percent feel like a small man in a tiny suit of armour that might as well be tin foil fighting something VERY well equipped to kill you... and thats before he rears back and fucking godzilla beams you. 11/10 would scream in frustration and plunging attack the walls of the entrance to his boss room again. My only complaint is that he wasn't the final boss of the dlc.
I always felt this song as both tragic and vicious. That sixth note in the very begining is what a dragon shouting sounds like. That first build up, that shout, that's the presentation. You just woke up someone VERY important. The first phase is that beautiful twisted waltz that to me says something like "It's me and you now, let's do this". First you see him, it's a beast, monstrous and scary, then it becomes noble, regal, dignified, with that beautiful melody-motif, and then it goes to those tense short notes that emphasize on the terror of fighting what you're fighting . And the way the fight goes, along with the soundtrack, tells a tale. He's ferocious, he's ancient, he's much more than you, but he's also twisted and transformed, yet remains in control. You're fighting against the aftermath of a battle between the two greatest forces to have ever existed: An ancient dragon, and the abyss. There is something else in the middle, around the latter part of the first phase, around 6:00 when that melody starts repeating,. It's a constant. Either his unending battle against the abyss, the many champions that fell to him before you, the endless watch he has kept over the ringed city, could be anything, but it's something that repeats. Not only that, but it's also something epic: It has a little crescendo, a climax and a resolution. It could easily be a hero's entire journey, it could be your whole story, yet he is so much older than that, he has been around for so long, that it's not even impressive. Goes to show how big (metaphorically) he is in comparisson to everything else. and then it gives you the real version in 6:12 where it feels like you're seeing the big fucking abyssal dragon besides all those other things that repeated before. And then that second phase, that's the abyss released. The tension in the strings you mentioned, the background strings appearing, dissapearing, changing from high to low, emphasizing certain parts of the melody, there is so much happening there, both inside him and between the two of you fighting. It's beautiful. The best part for me are the voices though. The low pitched voices to me are the abyss, like a monster trying to come out, while the high pitched ones keep that same dignity from the first phase intact, to then merge together right at the end, as if he was wielding the abyss against you at his will instead of being controled by it like a blind beast. That and the constant build-up, that tempo that everything has, this non-stopping rush forward, all of it is so magnificent, threatening, terrifying. I might just see too much in it, and interpret it in my own understanding and vision of it, but honestly it's my personal Fromsoft favourite, both the boss and the soundtrack, so I just had to make this comment.
I always feel like Midir's theme speaks to you about how wild and huge this boss is, he's not playing games, feels like you're being hunted by a huge creature that cannot be stopped or something like that
I recommend listening to Dragonslayer Armour as well. It has a similar regality, almost heaven-sent tone to it. Not to mention it's an awesome song. And once you learn what Armour actually is you'll feel a certain somber pain to it
What makes this boss even better is the fact that you're fighting a truly powerful and absolutely peak-strenght dragon. Basically all of the other dragons from the DS series has some disadvantage. Like Kalameet from DS1, he got shot by a huge arrow before the fight. Or the Ancient Dragon from DS2, which is not a real dragon at all, just an illusion.
The thing is midir isn't even in his prime when you fight him in the boss fight, he's been weakened from the abyss gnawing at him from the inside, his wings have holes in them, his scales have patches of crystals growing on them, plus you just hit him on the head really hard and knocked him down a big hole. This is not midir in his prime, he is hurt from the fight on the bridge and tired from consuming and holding back the dark for Untold thousands of years enduering its corruption the entire time. But it is still awesome to see his or still remaining strength, the innate power of an archdragon is a sight to behold.
@@2shadesofgray752 Yeah, at his first phase he might be weaker, but at his second phase he releases the abyss that he's been holding back all the time, gaining just as much strength to make him almost as powerful as he was at his prime.
Marco: *tries his best to examine the complexity and sophistication of Midir through his music* Midir: "I"M A FIRIN' MAH LAAAAAAAAAAZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!"
4:02 nice how you noticed that. That's why I've found myslef loving to replay this fight - the music follows the rythm of well telegraphed attacks, which creates a nice flow. This boss is so dependant on the music.
I find it interesting to look at his theme like a Waltz, which I've never heard before. Darkeater Midir - for all the fans or people who don't know - is a dragon that was tasked by the Gods to forever battle the Abyss by consuming its structure. When we find Midir, we find him absolutely weakened by the Abyss already had been fighting it for what we can assume to be Thousands of years. One thing I've noticed throughout the Dark Souls Series is that every boss having an attachment to the Abyss, have a constant theme. Artorias and Manus sort of paved the way for the other bosses of Dark souls to have these true attachments. Examples of these are of course the Abyss Watchers, Nashandra Queen of Drangleic of course, but also Midir and Gael. For anyone - again who isn't exactly attached to the lore - when you fight "Manus, Father of the Abyss" in Dark Souls 1, he has a certain attack where he roars and discharges a flurry of 'Humanity', which are these flying black soul-like energy homing missiles sort of, and not only does Midir do the exact same thing as the fight goes on and he gets more desperate, but so does Slave Knight Gael in phase 3 of his fight when he falls to the Dark Soul itself. Furthermore, in Slave Knight Gael's bossfight, there's a distinct combo he does where he slashes to both sides in front of him, then down twice, jumps, and stabs downward. This is also another attack of Manus, as he does this almost immediately when entering the boss room. Midir's slashing attacks also follow this combo sometimes, as you can be caught off guard pretty easily from the fire combo. Last, I'd like to talk about Slave Knight Gael really quickly mostly about how he moves and fights. If you look at Slave Knight Gael's fighting style, you'll notice it's not only distinct of Artorias, but also the Abyss Watchers themselves, as he even carries his weapons in the same way for Scene 2. I love Dark Souls Lore! I never really went to Vaati after I understood the lore for Dark Souls 1, as I wanted to piece the puzzles together on my own. Thanks for reading if you're still here, have a good day, and remember to keep your purpose. For without purpose, you'll go Hollow!
I love the Music that plays when you fight him but you must listen to it via gameplay, there is something to be said about the soft yet tragic symphony against hearing midirs primal roar, it is the pinnacle, a beautiful mix of smooth vs pure power.
I really liked this track, it really suits the epic "end of days" style of the fight. For my money there are two tracks off of the Dark Souls 3 OST that are head and shoulders above the others in emotional impact, in no small part because they differ from the rest a lot: the boss music for Sister Friede, and my absolute favourite "Secret Betrayal" which is an alternate music that plays in Firelink Shrine (the main hub area) after you've fulfilled one of the requisites for one of the "darker" endings to the game.
I love how each game's music is so unique and stand apart from each other. Also, might be biased, but Dragon tracks are definitely some of the best fromsoft has to offer
This is absolutely one of my favorite FROM boss themes, because whether intentional or not the opening moments of the fight and the song go hand in hand. The fight always begins with him charging at you spraying flame breath everywhere, swiping with his claws all while the bombastic choir sings their lungs out, but then as he passes you he'll swing around and stare you down just as those sinister sounding violins pick up. It's such a great way to begin the fight, gives me chills.
This battle. Dunno, but the music in all its splendor gives a sense of loneliness and sadness. But the whole of Dark Souls 3 has that melancholy. When I beat it, it makes me feel that I did something wrong. I just love these games that can twist your perception and emotions with music and visuals without crossing a word. It's magical.
Midir is what you can call a royal pet, bread with one purpose and one purpose alone, to fight back the abyss, hence the name dark eater, so maybe thats why you can feel a regal air about the music
Midir has probably one of the most powerful vocalization but some others like yhorm the giant with powerful vocals or the dancer of the boreal valley with beautiful extended vocals. They’re def my favorites from any soundtrack by fat
Darkeater Midir... A character whose origins come from the very beginning of the Age of Fire. Captured as an egg, presumably the Last egg, Midir was the Last True Dragon in the Dark Souls universe. As a Dragon, Midir is immune to even the effects of Time so Gwyn (the one from DS1) decided to have Midir hold back the endless pit that rest in the center of the Ringed City. However even the bodies of the Dragons aren't impervious to the Abyss. Eventually Midir decayed, weakened to the point where even us as a human could throw him down from the ledge.
Midir is the greatest dragon fight in fromsoft history, theyve always had an issue with dragon fights because of the camera but midir was perfection plus i really loved his design
Midir was the boss that took me the longest out of every DS3 boss and maybe the whole series. Because of how many times I fell down that hole and stepped up to him with his theme playing in my head over and over, Midir probably made the most lasting impact on me out of almost any DS3 boss. Now whenever i drop down that hole and walk up to him, it feels like walking up to an old friend.
I was literally looking to see if you've done a video on Darkeater Midir hours ago then you come out with this... This is truly my favourite soundtrack from Dark Souls 3 and one of my favourites from fromsoft
YESSSS, I've been waiting for this track! I literally listen to this track every week. just pure chaos manifested into a classical song. Midir is the best dragon fight in all the games. I was hoping to get a Midir level Dragon in Elden Ring but was disappointed unfortunately. just the pure rage and chaotic nature of the boss is great. he doesn't even fight like normal dragon. he claw swipes, he bites, he screams at you, he tries to grab attack you many times. the whole boss fight is one big endurance test and I loved it. another great video dude, I love your content.
Dark souls 3 ranks at the top for soundtrack and for my favorite game of all time. The soundtrack where even some of the “bad” bosses have cool/creepy music like Gravetender and greatwolf. I think good boss music can make a fight better. Bad boss music can weigh down a fight but the only fight that I think has bad boss music is the Cursed rotted Greatwood.
DS3 is amazing for tracks. This one, Sister Freide, Twin Princes and Aldrich are among my faves. Fun bonus: my cat growls and gets agitated for Gwindolin's boss music in DS1. I ended up pissing my pants laughing at her and dying. Worth it.
Oh God! Almost the best boss for me. The scale, the story, the character of midir, fighting a god that has been sent to eat all the dark. How beautiful and powerful his soul is. And besides that took me 1month to beat him. The pinnacle of Dark Souls for me.
The regality is very relevant as he was basically raised by the gods and tasked with devouring the very abyss itself, which is slowly eating him from the inside and corrupting him
6:33 - this is when Midir gets to half health and he rears back on his hind haunches and unleashes the most glorious and terrifying laser beam of brilliant white fire that he sweeps across the arena numerous times, which is a 1 hit kill if you get hit (unless you're ridiculously over leveled). So everything you said in your description of this musical build up is spot on.
Midir was the absolute bane of my existence for 3 days. I always struggled against most dragon bosses. But no boss took me more than a single day to beat. Nowadays, he is easy, but for 3 days, he was my nightmare.
midir is my favorite boss ive ever fought in a video game. he was also the hardest. because of that he thought me many things that help me even thorough other games and souls born series.
definitely one of my favorite boss, it has quite sad lore behind it, the last of it's kind, still fulfilling it's duty fight against abyss while being corrupted and also got left behind by the god who raised it. the first time i heard the first part of the music gave me chill, amazing soundtrack yet so sad
Darkeater Midir is THE top boss fight for me because of story, music, and difficulty. I would definitely suggest watching the full fight. Also, you get tasked with defeating him because after so long of being a loyal being fighting the abyss, the abyss has finally began to eat at Midir himself. And so the task is to end him before he becomes what he was to destroy. The second phase of the fight we see the darkness seem to envelop him even further, and he gets new Humanity attacks, his movements even more frantic than they were before, and his laser beam attack becomes a laser circus. You truly feel the desperation from not only him but yourself trying to survive and defeat him.
Midir is not only incredibly old, but he's decaying, being devoured from the inside by the abyss. So he's already weakened when we, the player, come along, kick him off a ledge into an old cave, and then follow him down to finnish him off. Midir is wounded and cornered, and as you fight him and weaken him further, he seems to fight even more desperately, like a wounded animal. He even exhausts himself from some of his attacks. Fighting him makes me so sad, he reminds me of Sif.
I am gonna have to disagree on the weakened part , if he didn't contact the abyss he wouldn't have his laser attacks , his abyss explosion , humanity attacks , which basically makes him just another little hard dragon with fu*k ton of hp
So I am gonna say that midir is actually in his strongest when we face him especially that he is desperately trying to survive so he uses things like the abyss power when he shouldn't use
If there's a boss that applies what you said is placidusax , you can clearly tell he was far stronger than now but he became very old , tired , and lost a head or two
@@purehollow he was weakened in the same way Artorias in ds1 was…
@@fenrirsilver6441 how exactly ? Because he broke his wings ? we broke his wings before the fight so it's not like artorias which we didn't break his left arm before the fight , or are you talking about immortality scales which wouldn't make a difference to the fight other than infinite hp
@@fenrirsilver6441 how exactly ? Because he broke his wings ? we broke his wings before the fight so it's not like artorias which we didn't break his left arm before the fight , or are you talking about immortality scales which wouldn't make a difference to the fight other than giving him infinite hp
@@purehollow weakened as in he was not just fighting us, but also the corruption, in addition to just being very old. Think of it this way, Artorias also got some abilities when corrupted, he was hella strong at that too. However, he was physically broken. For Midir he was just old in addition to the corruption. Still prefer the Artorias story better, but an old and decaying dragon corrupted by the abyss is still cool.
Hearing this while he starts nuking the arena with his god damn Godzilla laser breath is probably my favourite gaming moment ever
same
Laser seeking nukes vs swords and shields
My favorite factoid is that The Ring City came out after Shin Godzilla was in Theaters.
@@unicron004 And Shin Godzilla came after Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo short film by the same director, featuring a God Warrior from Nausicaa firing a purple beam across Tokyo and cutting down buildings in similar fashion.
Always scared the mess out of me when he starts charging up his base cannon
Midir was a decended from the Ancient Archdragons, since he was raised by the gods and put in charge of defending the Ringed City by eating the darkness of the abyss after millenia he got corrupted. His friend Shira helps you take him down, his battle plays like a very chaotic dance with you dodging claw swipes, lasers and fire.
The insta-kill laser that truly tested your sanity
he's also fighting against himself
And also to progress in the DLC we need to knock him off a bridge and he falls to the cave so in the battle he is wounded and furious with us.
@@Wyxill how so ? Never noticed him do something self harmful or like he is holding back.
@@THEO00900 he's mission is to defend the city to the abyss or invaders. Now he's corrupted, but he's still fighting the abyss and defending the city.
Fun fact: yuka kitamura plays violin and sings as soprano in most of DS3 soundtrack, and to me this gives the game's music more life and emotional impact. Also, I think this track is a real banger
@Steven Branas there's an interview she had before Sekiro released in which She says She plays violin and sings in the soundtrack. You can tell in both Ds3 and sekiro OSTs (which are the soundtracks She worked on the most) that the violin and female soprano voice are real and not virtual. Also, the timbre of that soprano voice you can hear in those 2 games Is the same Singer. You draw the conclusions :) there's no official statement of what I said in the first comment, but I think it's at least somewhat true and reasonable to think
Also, wtf autocorrect Is capitalizing a lot of words
God, love her work. She's so good
Yeah, the high notes she hits in this song are nuts
I feel like once I caught on to what her voice sounded like, I was shocked to hear it in so many DS3 tracks. It’s super distinct and gives the songs such an eerie feel.
@@queenvictoriann yeah it's part of what separates DS3 soundtrack so much from ds1 and 2
You even can hear her Voice out and identificate it in the Chorus sometimes. She peaks (intentionally) sometimes about the Rest. And i love it, she has such a great Voice and Talent.
I killed Midir recently (twice) and his song became one of my favourites
The ost is so freaking epic
Also Lore time
Midir was supposed to eat the darkness(Darkeater Midir) but later became corrupted by it, eventually someone asks us to kill Midir to end his suffering. Hence the pain in the song
He is also the last dragon alive and was raised by the people who commited genocide on his race.
Don't you guys get tired of the "ancient hero fell from grace and now you have to put him down" trope? Ffs it got tiresome after the 10th time.
@@AbelMusa I guess... his story isn't much
his fight though
dear god so epic
Same for the ost
@@AbelMusa well its a fun twist on the trope because its a dragon this time
@@AbelMusa it’s a bit more complex than that. it’s very tragic cause he has been manipulated by the very people that ended his race
Fromoft Music peaked in Dark Souls 3. From Gael, Midir, Nameless King and then to my favorite Twin Princes.
You must've forgotten about Godrick, Radahn, Renalla, Ancestor Spirit, Rykard, LICHDRAGON FORTISSAX, Mohg, Lord of Blood, Maliketh, Godfrey, THE FINAL BATTLE. Idk why everyone acts like DS3 is leagues better than everything else when it comes to music. Elden Ring and Bloodborne are just as good.
The music is really really good but I seriously disagree that it reaches the heights that Bloodborne does.
Crimson bat was ultra good as well,too bad they didn't put it in the game
@@gaszwyn449 W opinion
@@vl_0223 🤝
A lot of Dark Souls 3 soundtracks have this interesting duality between melancholy and this triumphant style. Makes sense, since this is suppose to be the end of the world of Dark Souls, a very miserable world but it's still going out in a blaze of glory. It's kind of beautiful.
Amazing way to put it. The world, dying, the people dying, and the gods, dead. All we are doing is wandering this world, slaying legends, and legends past.
One of my favorites, specially considering how the boss arena is the location showing the furtive pygmy in the DS1 intro cinematic apparently.
Oh, I've never thought about that. The cave being the place where the pygmy found the Dark Soul. And since they showed the original Firelink Shrine in the same DLC, this could be true.
@@matheusbecker2351where you fall is almost identical to it
I feel that this hits in the same way as Lady Maria. There's an inherent tragedy in it, it's grandiose yet sad. Honestly, I like Gael's fight and music more from this game, but this song really makes me feel like I'm releasing this magnificent creature from his duty and suffering.
Ya!!
Why did this comment almost make me cry...
@@raineyoung3291 might be because you have a good heart
@@treyatkinson7564 Thank you friend. You as well
That's exactly what you're doing. Shira specifies that he isn't corrupted by the Abyss *yet,* so there's a beauty to this tragedy. We're putting him down before he becomes a shamble. He dies with dignity, with his duty intact.
As much of a Mid-way boss as it is , the Dragonslayer's Armour theme is honestly an ungodly piece of work. I would say it overtakes the bossfight it was written for , even. Definitely give it a listen , be it for a video or in your own spare time , your ears won't regret it.
easily one of the most underrated soundtracks from ds3
Dragonslayer Armor is underrated, and the theme is a banger
I recommend sister friede, it has a very different tone from most souls music and then shifts majorly in phase 2.
Friede’s first phase theme is great but imo the second and third phase are generic and forgettable
sister friede is my favorite boss fight in ds3 in terms of every metric
@@mark42881 friede is my favorite boss ever and second is malenia
@@illusion8457 imho, friede second phase is the best Ds3 ost
Slave Knight Gael phase 1 is my favourite souls music but sister Friede is a very good choice too
Midir’s music always makes me want to cry. I always get the impression that the character is in deep pain, and that’s what causes their frustration and eventual ferocious anger. That along with the quest from Midir’s friend, which is basically, “put him out of his misery for he is bound by a duty that won’t allow him”. All very sad.
Midir's theme is my favorite soundtrack in the entire series.
Midir is my number 1 favorite boss in the series, because I like everything about him, from the theme to the design, and the weapon you get by defeating him is imo one of the coolest in Dark Souls 3.
spamming the weapon skill will never not be fun 😅
@@HadiaVin Yes, just yes. It's like waterfowl dance and moonveil in a single weapon.
@@bloodshade1650 i like to call it rivers of moonveil
I put my signature under every word in your comment. This OST that plays during the battle with Midir is so great that I can listen to it for hours and I will not get tired
Darkeater midir's theme is definitely up there from the many times I had to hear it while fighting the boss. His entrance combined with the song is something you just have to see, a really powerful moment showing his might. You mentioning the theme is like a waltz of death is very fitting, because if you have mastered the fight, then it can feel like a dance because of all the precise movements you do. And if you mess up then you will instantly be nearing death. The music getting intense in the 2nd theme combined with his chaotic laser breath just puts you in a state of panic the first time and many times after you experience it.
I don't care how much this dragon beats my whole face in every time I face him, he's my favorite boss of the entirety of DS3. I crave this waltz, and the swaying rhythm. Its like...even though he is way gone and corrupted beyond himself, the waltz is a last ditch effort to remind you that he was once a regal, dignified being.
The part that kicks in around 3:13 is one of my favourite pieces of music ever. So damn regal and epic.
Darkeater Midir is definitely the best dragon From Software has done and one of my favorite bosses in general. A lot of the points in your analysis were crazy spot on too. The song itself tells it's story very well, but being able to accurately pick up on most of it with little context is damn impressive.
Having beaten Midir with a +0 broken straight sword, his boss fight is absolutely a dance between himself and the player and it simply grows in intensity at the midway point. That feeling of desperation likely comes from Midir feeling his strength waning and is fighting either for his life or for the city he’s supposed to protect, or possibly even the darkness itself.
Why does no-one talk about that _apocalyptic_ modulation in the 2nd phase? Everytime I listen to this theme and it hits, it's like I'm struck with all of Midir's might in a single blow.
Everybody's a hero until Midir starts shooting lasers 😂
Everytime they go up that damn whole step in the second phase it just straight up floods me with adrenaline ahahah
i believe that due to the corruption by the abyss Midir has also gone blind, so the violent desperation and aggressive thrashing around that the song is described as is definitely on topic, he is trying his most to get rid of you while being severely degraded from his prime
the thousands of years thing is true, as far as i remember archdragons are immortal. however in gameplay you first encounter him... pretty on topic, trying to kill you, but on a bridge and knock him down into that cave in which you must go into to finish him off, its more of a mercy kill. we're not "disturbing" him, we're putting him to rest from an endless life of fighting and being worn off by the abyss
Midir is old, but he wasn’t always in that cave. you hit him in the head so hard he falls into the cave and you have the option to finish the job, hence why he’s so angry to see you(he’s already angry because of the corruption, but now it’s doubled because you bonked him too hard)
Midir has a feral elegance to him. I mean, he was raised by Gwyn's estranged daughter to fight against the growing of the Abyss as the defender of the Ringed City, but has become corrupted. He's also the only dragon you fight that hasn't been technically reduced from his prime, save for a critical strike to the head. He has the sense that you're fighting the guard dog of the gods, except the dog itself also has sapience beyond just fighting.
Nah, "Guard dog of the Gods" is one of the coolest things I've ever read, thank you for making Midir even cooler
It’s cool how people can just guess a characters entire background and lore, just by listening to and analyzing their theme.
Midir, the ancient and previously proud eternal dragon who was spared by Gwyn during the start of the age of fire.
He enslaved Midir and kept him locked away for reasons that aren’t revealed to us at the time.
“But with fire came disparity. Life and death, warmth and cold, but most importantly, light and dark”.
Gwyn, who bore the soul of light, came to fear his opposite. He feared that the bearer of the soul of dark would come to put an end to his age of fire, his age of light.
So he enslaved the race created by the dark soul, and imprisoned them all in the ringed city, disguising their imprisonment as a gift to them by sending his own daughter Fillianore, to oversee and rule them. This, the birth of the human race into this world.
Gwyn then cast the original bearer of the dark soul, Manus, into his own secluded prison, where his mind crumbled and he went mad and used the dark souls power to create the ever growing pocket of darkness known as the abyss. No longer being a suitable host for the dark soul, due to his insanity, it broke into several peices and went to his creations. And every human born after that has had fragments of the dark soul passed down to them.
The descendants of Manus, bearer of the dark soul, humans, all bear a very small fragment of what remains of the dark soul, all of which have the potential to grow and fester into a new dark soul. So int that regard, he doomed himself, all because of his paranoia, and his fear of loss.
So he created a ring of fire, fire that creates light, and he branded the humans with it. The ring of fire, know as the darksign, was meant to act as a prison, containing the dark soul that was a part of each humans soul. But some of it escaped the darksigns hold, so Gwyn sent in Midir and gave him an order. His purpose was to devour the remnants of the darkness that escaped the darksign.
Over the course of several hundred generations, long after the fall of Gwyn, the darkness that Midir continued to consume corrupted him, driving him mad and fusing itself with his very scales, becoming a part of him, thus earning him the name, Darkeater Midir.
Even through all of those uncountable years, he remained true to his purpose, fulfilling his duty up until the unkindled one comes along and puts him out of his misery, sparing him any future pain.
Sorry for the lore script, I probably missed a few things or got something slightly wrong. But here is most of the lore of Gwyn, Manus, the humans, and everything I know regarding Darkeater Midir.
Dark souls 3 is just…
Beautiful
My favorite track of the series. Combines the epicness of Gael with the melodic pain and melancholy of Abyss Watchers/Twin Princes and the result is absolute perfection
I discovered Midir around Ng+5, so this damned (literally) dragon gave me nightmares. I fought him so many times... That violin at the start gives me creeps to this day...
You poor soul
9:33 oh man you stopped right at THE moment 😭
i love how fucking malevolent the strings sound in the opening. it really helps fuel the idea of how corrupted Midir has become over the years of fighting the abyss. also, another great thing about that part is that Midir always start the fight doing thing massive thrashing swipes and breaths of fire, but after his combo, he turns around, AND THEN the strings kick in. they timed the music and attack together so well, and the effect is so amazing and memorable to me.
One of my favorites. Also I do love Dark Souls 3 the best of the 3 games(Elden Ring is the best of all Fromsoft).
Darkeater Midir, the last dragon…A dragon raised by the gods and sent away to the Ringed City of man, told you devour the darkness that Man leaked out to prevent it from spreading..Only to be consumed by the darkness and made mad.
He is the only True Dragon that you fight in the game as by this point they were practically extinct and he was truly the last, Sin was one in DS2 and DS1 had like five or so but even then they were a dying breed.
So there is a sense of sadness for striking down the very last of what was once the only beings that could contend with the gods along with his corruption that drove him insane too.
The purple crystals you point out is literally darkness turned crystal which is the corruption. His black flame is also part darkness.
I fought Midir several times already through my speedruns and this fight is one that never gets boring. Also one thing I noticed is that just like the music in phase 2 become more violent, so does his attacks. It really feels like the first phase is a "How dare you challenging me?" while in the second phase Midir notices that you (the player) arr a threat to his life so he's just trying to survive and to kill you even if it means to summon abyss magic, exhausting all his stamina after a spectacular attack and so on. But still, he's suffering from the abyss that corrupted him, but it's hard for him to feel difference anymore after all that years ...
The presentation of this boss is one of the best in fromsoft history. Him standing up and spreading his wings as his music starts is bone chilling!
Darkeater Midir's music is to me a waltz with Death. Midir was raised to devour the dark soul. To devour Humanity. After eons of doing so, he's become a grim reaper of sorts. We are the ultimate enemy in his eyes, and we must dance his dance of death if we are to survive.
7:49 this part is the only time in Dark Souls where I've felt heroic in doing something
Second favorite boss fight, and definitely favorite OST.
I think I have to recommend the song "Sir Alonne". In the terms of FromSoftware music, it can be seen as almost a turning point as it brought with it the grandiose scale and orchestra, and also was one of Kitamura's first major songs. It's practically a precursor to the music of DS3, as it varies so heavily from the style set by Sakuraba originally.
Imho, this piece evokes the feeling of great might. The vocals and the violins illustrate how Midir is destroying everything in his path as he's raging across the arena.
This is a legendary dragon, not just another lizard.
This fight felt like a dance with the boss for sure, learning his large aoes etc and knowing how to avoid them. This guy was my favorite boss and it took me a good bit to learn but this music in the back helped to set the mood amazingly.
DS3 is my favorite Souls game for music and story, containing an overwhelming majority of my favorite tracks, lore tidbits, and NPC questlines from the series. DS2 will always have my heart for gameplay with powerstancing, though, and DS1 still holds as a great experience for challenge runs with all of the routes that can be taken through it!
This track, and "Lorian, Elder Prince/Lothric, Younger Prince" commonly get used in DnD games I run, being absolutely perfect for huge climactic boss fights that are short but heavy
Darkeater Midir is one of my favorite bosses. The design, the music, and the aesthetic, it's all just so beautiful! And of course, the lore around him is really quite tragic. There's beauty in the tragedy of From Software games, it's a very rich experience to really dig into the lore around all these characters.
Oooo DS3 might have to be my number 1 fromsoft game for music. Heard this song waaaaay to much lol. Took me a good 30-40 tries to beat him the first time. Then on next playthroughs usually takes me 2-10 tries :D. But damn this song is fricking awesome. I love how grand, epic, intense and royal it feels. Like when I hear the first few seconds of the song I get an instant image of Midir standing on his 2 back legs spreading his wings roaring and breathing fire. So awesome.
My interpretation is this: this once beautiful, majestic creature has been reduced to madness and agony.
100% my favorite fromsoft theme right here. I love the desperation in phase 2, sounds frantic and bombastic, like an animal that’s putting on one last grand display to fight off the player. Very fitting for midir’s story
Thanks for choosing this track! Burned into my brain from attempting Midir for hours, and my second favorite track from Dark Souls 3 (Abyss Watchers is best). Overall I still would give Bloodborne the crown of best Fromsoft OST, since absolutely all tracks are on that exceptional level, while all other games have so pretty good but not amazing tracks amongst them. Speaking off which: One Reborn from Bloodborne please!
Your knowledge is facinating, learned a lot from your input. Thanks :)
Glad to hear it!
It's incredible how much you read from a single line of music, you're right on so many counts.
The layers behind the theme get so much better when you understand the backstory to these characters.
The Walts like melody with the violin and vocals sometimes almost acting like a Jaws theme fits perfectly for a once royal guardian turned into a maddened and (literally.) blind beast, hell bent on eating the darkness of humanity.
What I also like with Midir is that we can see him before we even realize he's going to be a fight. At the entrance of the Ringed City before you get into pin cushion range, look to the right at a sort of free-standing mountain/bit of rock, and you can see Midir perched on it (or on the side of it) just watching you as you enter the city.
As for "who dares disturb my sleep", he's down there because the player sent him there. There's a rocky path as you explore and Midir suddenly gets involved and does the usual FromSoftware dragon thing of flying around spewing fire at the player. You have to get through there and there's a bonfire ahead, but Midir will land and you can go back and keep hitting his front paws and head until he falls off the cliff/ledge. He ends up in that arena somehow after that.
Darkeater Midir is my most memorable boss from DS3. I spent hours fighting this boss with my friends. I memorized all of its attacks, and had the song stuck in my head from how much I listened to it. This might be my favorite Dragon boss in all of the Souls games.
Theses are my top 3 raking fromsoft music
1- bloodborne
2- dark souls 3 (ds3)
3- elden ring
Its been one of my favorite soundtracks from the whole series. The boss fight begins when you land in the cave, it awakens from unconsciousness roars, and then the soundtrack begins, as it does the same move at the beginning everytime. Rampaging through the arena clawing breathing flames and swinging its tail around. I thought this song caught the story behind Midir so perfectly. Never ending combat for the dragon, ever loyal and still so powerful, but tragically corrupted. Loving your reactions man, sorry for binging your videos. xD
I think you should watch Midir's laser attack in second phase. With his ost it's absolutely insane. Good vid btw)
Midir is my Top 1 boss from any fromsoft game. I can't explain it correctly, but the epicness in the fight, the sad lore behind this poor dragon who fights alone against the darkness, the such epic music and the difficulty behind it makes it a complete 10/10
To me Midir is this kind of boss that feels like ur not ''supposed'' to kill. kind of like the ancient dragon in ds2 which is a boss that isnt inherently hostile to you, but that u can kill nonetheless. I have killed him once or twice on my own and he really tests ur endurance given his hp pool is massive. Probably one of my favorite bosses in the dark souls universe. having to kill this once noble dragon that is just too far gone to be saved in any other way than killing him really tugged at my heartstrings. btw I absolutely love how much u have covered of the soulsborne franchise and i cant wait to see more!
NG+7 Midir is even worse because his hp is almost double the regular amount.
DS3 most definitely has my favorite soundtrack in the series. It's on a whole other level and that's saying something considering how amazing the other Soulsborne soundtracks are.
And it just so happens Midir's theme is my favorite in the series.
Here's the thing about Darkeater Midir: After you've fought him, you realise how absolutely fucking inadequate every other dragon you've ever fought in a game has ever been. Midir reaches into your chest and rips out the seven year old boy who dreamed of being a knight and triumphing against all odds. Midir makes you one hundred percent feel like a small man in a tiny suit of armour that might as well be tin foil fighting something VERY well equipped to kill you... and thats before he rears back and fucking godzilla beams you. 11/10 would scream in frustration and plunging attack the walls of the entrance to his boss room again. My only complaint is that he wasn't the final boss of the dlc.
it really is amazing how much of these fights he gets correct just by the composition of the soundtrack, really cool.
I always felt this song as both tragic and vicious. That sixth note in the very begining is what a dragon shouting sounds like. That first build up, that shout, that's the presentation. You just woke up someone VERY important.
The first phase is that beautiful twisted waltz that to me says something like "It's me and you now, let's do this". First you see him, it's a beast, monstrous and scary, then it becomes noble, regal, dignified, with that beautiful melody-motif, and then it goes to those tense short notes that emphasize on the terror of fighting what you're fighting . And the way the fight goes, along with the soundtrack, tells a tale. He's ferocious, he's ancient, he's much more than you, but he's also twisted and transformed, yet remains in control. You're fighting against the aftermath of a battle between the two greatest forces to have ever existed: An ancient dragon, and the abyss.
There is something else in the middle, around the latter part of the first phase, around 6:00 when that melody starts repeating,. It's a constant. Either his unending battle against the abyss, the many champions that fell to him before you, the endless watch he has kept over the ringed city, could be anything, but it's something that repeats. Not only that, but it's also something epic: It has a little crescendo, a climax and a resolution. It could easily be a hero's entire journey, it could be your whole story, yet he is so much older than that, he has been around for so long, that it's not even impressive. Goes to show how big (metaphorically) he is in comparisson to everything else. and then it gives you the real version in 6:12 where it feels like you're seeing the big fucking abyssal dragon besides all those other things that repeated before.
And then that second phase, that's the abyss released. The tension in the strings you mentioned, the background strings appearing, dissapearing, changing from high to low, emphasizing certain parts of the melody, there is so much happening there, both inside him and between the two of you fighting. It's beautiful. The best part for me are the voices though. The low pitched voices to me are the abyss, like a monster trying to come out, while the high pitched ones keep that same dignity from the first phase intact, to then merge together right at the end, as if he was wielding the abyss against you at his will instead of being controled by it like a blind beast. That and the constant build-up, that tempo that everything has, this non-stopping rush forward, all of it is so magnificent, threatening, terrifying.
I might just see too much in it, and interpret it in my own understanding and vision of it, but honestly it's my personal Fromsoft favourite, both the boss and the soundtrack, so I just had to make this comment.
Midir, Gael, Friede, and The Twin Princes were all the bane of the ashen one's existence on my first playthrough. But they are all flippin amazing!
I always feel like Midir's theme speaks to you about how wild and huge this boss is, he's not playing games, feels like you're being hunted by a huge creature that cannot be stopped or something like that
I recommend listening to Dragonslayer Armour as well. It has a similar regality, almost heaven-sent tone to it. Not to mention it's an awesome song. And once you learn what Armour actually is you'll feel a certain somber pain to it
What makes this boss even better is the fact that you're fighting a truly powerful and absolutely peak-strenght dragon. Basically all of the other dragons from the DS series has some disadvantage. Like Kalameet from DS1, he got shot by a huge arrow before the fight. Or the Ancient Dragon from DS2, which is not a real dragon at all, just an illusion.
The thing is midir isn't even in his prime when you fight him in the boss fight, he's been weakened from the abyss gnawing at him from the inside, his wings have holes in them, his scales have patches of crystals growing on them, plus you just hit him on the head really hard and knocked him down a big hole. This is not midir in his prime, he is hurt from the fight on the bridge and tired from consuming and holding back the dark for Untold thousands of years enduering its corruption the entire time. But it is still awesome to see his or still remaining strength, the innate power of an archdragon is a sight to behold.
@@2shadesofgray752 Yeah, at his first phase he might be weaker, but at his second phase he releases the abyss that he's been holding back all the time, gaining just as much strength to make him almost as powerful as he was at his prime.
@@richardk.9617 But still not his prime, only a corrupted semblance of it
Marco: *tries his best to examine the complexity and sophistication of Midir through his music*
Midir: "I"M A FIRIN' MAH LAAAAAAAAAAZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!"
4:02 nice how you noticed that. That's why I've found myslef loving to replay this fight - the music follows the rythm of well telegraphed attacks, which creates a nice flow. This boss is so dependant on the music.
I find it interesting to look at his theme like a Waltz, which I've never heard before. Darkeater Midir - for all the fans or people who don't know - is a dragon that was tasked by the Gods to forever battle the Abyss by consuming its structure. When we find Midir, we find him absolutely weakened by the Abyss already had been fighting it for what we can assume to be Thousands of years.
One thing I've noticed throughout the Dark Souls Series is that every boss having an attachment to the Abyss, have a constant theme. Artorias and Manus sort of paved the way for the other bosses of Dark souls to have these true attachments. Examples of these are of course the Abyss Watchers, Nashandra Queen of Drangleic of course, but also Midir and Gael.
For anyone - again who isn't exactly attached to the lore - when you fight "Manus, Father of the Abyss" in Dark Souls 1, he has a certain attack where he roars and discharges a flurry of 'Humanity', which are these flying black soul-like energy homing missiles sort of, and not only does Midir do the exact same thing as the fight goes on and he gets more desperate, but so does Slave Knight Gael in phase 3 of his fight when he falls to the Dark Soul itself.
Furthermore, in Slave Knight Gael's bossfight, there's a distinct combo he does where he slashes to both sides in front of him, then down twice, jumps, and stabs downward. This is also another attack of Manus, as he does this almost immediately when entering the boss room. Midir's slashing attacks also follow this combo sometimes, as you can be caught off guard pretty easily from the fire combo.
Last, I'd like to talk about Slave Knight Gael really quickly mostly about how he moves and fights. If you look at Slave Knight Gael's fighting style, you'll notice it's not only distinct of Artorias, but also the Abyss Watchers themselves, as he even carries his weapons in the same way for Scene 2.
I love Dark Souls Lore! I never really went to Vaati after I understood the lore for Dark Souls 1, as I wanted to piece the puzzles together on my own. Thanks for reading if you're still here, have a good day, and remember to keep your purpose. For without purpose, you'll go Hollow!
Thank you, Marco!! It means a lot! I watch your video's all the time to get a new perspective of Dark Souls and other video games!
I love the Music that plays when you fight him but you must listen to it via gameplay, there is something to be said about the soft yet tragic symphony against hearing midirs primal roar, it is the pinnacle, a beautiful mix of smooth vs pure power.
Great video as always and I recommend Twin Princes
I really liked this track, it really suits the epic "end of days" style of the fight. For my money there are two tracks off of the Dark Souls 3 OST that are head and shoulders above the others in emotional impact, in no small part because they differ from the rest a lot: the boss music for Sister Friede, and my absolute favourite "Secret Betrayal" which is an alternate music that plays in Firelink Shrine (the main hub area) after you've fulfilled one of the requisites for one of the "darker" endings to the game.
The Slave Knight Gael fight music is also *amazing* -- Dark Souls 3 really knocked it out of the park with its use of dissonant and epic sounds.
This is by far the single most epic fight in all of gaming... the way he thrashes aroind the room synchronising with the music is just incomparable
I love how each game's music is so unique and stand apart from each other.
Also, might be biased, but Dragon tracks are definitely some of the best fromsoft has to offer
This is absolutely one of my favorite FROM boss themes, because whether intentional or not the opening moments of the fight and the song go hand in hand. The fight always begins with him charging at you spraying flame breath everywhere, swiping with his claws all while the bombastic choir sings their lungs out, but then as he passes you he'll swing around and stare you down just as those sinister sounding violins pick up. It's such a great way to begin the fight, gives me chills.
This battle.
Dunno, but the music in all its splendor gives a sense of loneliness and sadness.
But the whole of Dark Souls 3 has that melancholy. When I beat it, it makes me feel that I did something wrong.
I just love these games that can twist your perception and emotions with music and visuals without crossing a word.
It's magical.
It's not whirlwind, its freaking LASER!
i think midir is the best bossfight in the entire dark souls series and i waited a long time for this video ^^
Midir is what you can call a royal pet, bread with one purpose and one purpose alone, to fight back the abyss, hence the name dark eater, so maybe thats why you can feel a regal air about the music
Midir has probably one of the most powerful vocalization but some others like yhorm the giant with powerful vocals or the dancer of the boreal valley with beautiful extended vocals. They’re def my favorites from any soundtrack by fat
DSIII ranks for me as #1 for my favorite OST and game made by FROMSOFT. I've played that masterpiece so many times and the music never gets old.
Darkeater Midir...
A character whose origins come from the very beginning of the Age of Fire.
Captured as an egg, presumably the Last egg, Midir was the Last True Dragon in the Dark Souls universe.
As a Dragon, Midir is immune to even the effects of Time so Gwyn (the one from DS1) decided to have Midir hold back the endless pit that rest in the center of the Ringed City.
However even the bodies of the Dragons aren't impervious to the Abyss. Eventually Midir decayed, weakened to the point where even us as a human could throw him down from the ledge.
Honestly Midir is the best dragon fight in a souls game! As a Godzilla fan, stage 2 send shivers down my spine. So cool
Midir is the greatest dragon fight in fromsoft history, theyve always had an issue with dragon fights because of the camera but midir was perfection plus i really loved his design
Midir was the boss that took me the longest out of every DS3 boss and maybe the whole series. Because of how many times I fell down that hole and stepped up to him with his theme playing in my head over and over, Midir probably made the most lasting impact on me out of almost any DS3 boss. Now whenever i drop down that hole and walk up to him, it feels like walking up to an old friend.
I am absolutely in love with the fact that the Darkeater Midir theme is a bloody waltz
The melody at the start reminds me of something from Anastasia
I was literally looking to see if you've done a video on Darkeater Midir hours ago then you come out with this... This is truly my favourite soundtrack from Dark Souls 3 and one of my favourites from fromsoft
YESSSS, I've been waiting for this track! I literally listen to this track every week. just pure chaos manifested into a classical song. Midir is the best dragon fight in all the games. I was hoping to get a Midir level Dragon in Elden Ring but was disappointed unfortunately. just the pure rage and chaotic nature of the boss is great. he doesn't even fight like normal dragon. he claw swipes, he bites, he screams at you, he tries to grab attack you many times. the whole boss fight is one big endurance test and I loved it. another great video dude, I love your content.
Dark souls 3 ranks at the top for soundtrack and for my favorite game of all time. The soundtrack where even some of the “bad” bosses have cool/creepy music like Gravetender and greatwolf. I think good boss music can make a fight better. Bad boss music can weigh down a fight but the only fight that I think has bad boss music is the Cursed rotted Greatwood.
DS3 is amazing for tracks. This one, Sister Freide, Twin Princes and Aldrich are among my faves. Fun bonus: my cat growls and gets agitated for Gwindolin's boss music in DS1. I ended up pissing my pants laughing at her and dying. Worth it.
Oh God! Almost the best boss for me. The scale, the story, the character of midir, fighting a god that has been sent to eat all the dark. How beautiful and powerful his soul is. And besides that took me 1month to beat him. The pinnacle of Dark Souls for me.
The beauty of Midir’s theme, its its so much like a heart beat,
YEEEES! i love so many of the boss tracks from DS3! my all time favorite is absolutely the Abyss Watchers
The regality is very relevant as he was basically raised by the gods and tasked with devouring the very abyss itself, which is slowly eating him from the inside and corrupting him
Darkeater Midir is the best fictional dragon ever design to the video games universe up to this day.
6:33 - this is when Midir gets to half health and he rears back on his hind haunches and unleashes the most glorious and terrifying laser beam of brilliant white fire that he sweeps across the arena numerous times, which is a 1 hit kill if you get hit (unless you're ridiculously over leveled). So everything you said in your description of this musical build up is spot on.
Midir was the absolute bane of my existence for 3 days. I always struggled against most dragon bosses. But no boss took me more than a single day to beat. Nowadays, he is easy, but for 3 days, he was my nightmare.
Killing Midir at SL1 was one of my biggest accomplishments as a gamer. I was shaking after defeated this absolute unit.
Bit late to the party but I just wanted to say I love when they add the harp strum before their songs, never gets old
midir is my favorite boss ive ever fought in a video game. he was also the hardest. because of that he thought me many things that help me even thorough other games and souls born series.
definitely one of my favorite boss, it has quite sad lore behind it, the last of it's kind, still fulfilling it's duty fight against abyss while being corrupted and also got left behind by the god who raised it. the first time i heard the first part of the music gave me chill, amazing soundtrack yet so sad
dark souls 3 has my favorite OST, no contest.
Darkeater Midir is THE top boss fight for me because of story, music, and difficulty. I would definitely suggest watching the full fight. Also, you get tasked with defeating him because after so long of being a loyal being fighting the abyss, the abyss has finally began to eat at Midir himself. And so the task is to end him before he becomes what he was to destroy. The second phase of the fight we see the darkness seem to envelop him even further, and he gets new Humanity attacks, his movements even more frantic than they were before, and his laser beam attack becomes a laser circus. You truly feel the desperation from not only him but yourself trying to survive and defeat him.
This boss was crazy. A fight to the end of the world with the last descendant of the ancient dragons