History Trivia / DarkSoulsII

** Mild-Mannered Pate is voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, more widely known as the original voice of Darth Maul and a [[PromotedFanboy fan of the series.]]

* CelebrityVoiceActor: Mild-Mannered Pate is voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, more widely known as the original voice of Darth Maul and a [[PromotedFanboy fan of the series.]]

* CelebrityVoiceActor: Mild-Mannered Pate is voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, more widely known as the voice of Darth Maul and a [[PromotedFanboy fan of the series.]]

** The pair of Dragonriders in Drangelic Castle are the "Videogame/{{Double Dragon}}s".
** The Shrine of Amana is "Videogame/{{Touhou}} Swamp" after all the priestesses who [[MoreDakka spam Homing Soul Arrow everywhere]].

** Dyna & Tillo have been nicknamed Silky (Or Silky & Smooth), keeping the tradition of Snuggly and Sparkly's names.

** New Smough for Dragonrider, due to his large size and that he guards the opposite path of Ornstein's.
** Estus Maid or Firelink Maid for Emerald Herald, since she gives you the first Estus Flask and upgrades it, while she usually stays near the Majula Bonfire.
** Heide Knights look like buffed up Solaires, so they've been naturally nicknamed [[Memes/DarkSouls Sunbros]]. They only attack if provoked, so they are pretty laid back like Solaire. Fauxlaire is not an uncommon moniker either.
** Alonne Knights are often given the nickname "weeaboo knights" or "weeb knights" because they're knights in western armor... [[KatanasAreJustBetter wielding katana]].
** Old Ironclads have been nicknamed Turtlemen, for obvious reasons. They're also called "[[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtles]]" because of how they'll flip back and crush you if you try to backstab them. The regular Ironclads don't get this as much due to their purely silver coloration, opposed to the mossy green of the Old Ironclad.
** Illuminated Corpses have been referred to as Exploding Hollows, Jihad Zombies, or Bellyfloppers, due to their signature attack.

*** The Blue Sentinels are often referred to as the "Music/BlueManGroup" or "Drangleic PD." The Blue Sentinels and Brotherhood of Blood are sometimes referred to as [[EdibleThemeNaming Blueberries and Strawberries]] respectively, as well. "Bluebro" is a general term for both Blue Sentinels and Way of Blue members, due to how they interact.

*** Dragon Remnants are "Dragonbros."
*** Warriors of the Sun are, as with the previous game, "Sunbros."

** The Skeleton Lords are Papa Nito's Family Circus.
** The Covetous Demon is alternately known as [[Franchise/StarWars Jabba the Hutt]].
** Lucatiel of Mirrah is [[RunningGag Girlbro or Sunsis.]]

** The pair of Dragonriders in Drangelic Castle are the Videogame/{{Double Dragon}}s.
** The Shrine of Amana is Videogame/{{Touhou}} Swamp after all the priestesses who [[MoreDakka spam Homing Soul Arrow everywhere]].

** Drangleic Castle is referred to as "Synthetic Cattle" on Reddit's Dark Souls 2 sub, after an [[http://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSouls2/comments/2101ck/psa_do_not_update_game_if_you_are_in_synthetic/ unfortunately-autocorrected PSA on a bug]].
** Velstadt the Royal Aegis is otherwise known as [[Videogame/DemonsSouls Garl Vinland]] 2.0 (or 3.0 if you count [[Videogame/DarkSouls Paladin Leeroy]]) due to how ridiculously similar their appearance, choice of weapon and role are.
** Because of its angelic appearance and hooded face, [[BonusBoss the Darklurker]] is jokingly referred to as [[VideoGame/DiabloIII Tyrael]].

** The trio of adventurers (Graverobber, Varg and Cerah) are appropriately called the Gank Squad ([[DoomyDoomsOfDoom of Doom]]).

** Due to the importance of poise and armor rating being far less relevant than in the first game and relying more on dodging, players have taken a liking to dress up in whatever they feel is most fashionable, aka ''Fashion Souls''.
** The Ancient Dragon, due to its epic GoddamnedBoss status, is appropriately called the Ancient Douchebag.
** Thanks to FunWithAcronyms, Sir Raime the Fume Knight's weapon is more known as the FUGS (Fume Ultra [=GreatSword=]).

* IKnewIt: Some fans speculated that the ''Crown of the Old Iron King'' would feature the [[ThatOneBoss Smelter Demon]] in one way or another due to the DLC's title obviously having something to do with the Iron Keep, as well as the general impression that [[TrollingCreator FROM Software]] might as well rub it in further in the players' faces. Within the DLC, a Smelter Demon does appear, although it's much stronger and has blue flames.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** ''The original storyline'', some of which can still be gleaned from the Network Test text files. The original plot involved gathering the means of powering a special pendulum that would let the user travel through time in order to keep Drangleic from falling to the giants. During one particular time jump, you were able to encounter the child version of the Emerald Herald travelling with a shifty merchant, who you could rescue her from; she even had a sidequest where you could collect feathers for her, which explains the Aged Feather she gives you once you reach the Dragon Aerie in the final game. The Gyrm were a slave race used by the King to build and maintain the Castle's sewage system. The Undead Crypt was originally the Immortal Castle, an underground fortress for a race of immortal people that had somehow avoided Hollowing and hated sunlight, with the Shrine of Amana being a hidden path to the Citadel that the Gyrm made under the King's nose. Shalquoir originally required a ring to even talk to her, similar to Manscorpion Tark in the final game.
** There was originally supposed to be an encounter with a dragon in Things Betwixt, but it was removed because it was deemed "too difficult and off putting for new players". Datamined maps also reveal that Things Betwixt was supposed to be a ''much bigger'' area and included the caverns that make up the three Dark Chasm of Old areas as part of it. You were originally supposed to try navigating them in the pitch dark and avoid strong/elite enemies, finding different exits to the area, with one of them being the aqueduct to Drangleic Castle.
** The original concept for the Executioner's Chariot was that it was supposed to be encountered multiple times, or several different ones would have been encountered throughout the game, as some sort of elite mook that would constantly hunt you down should you have committed evil deeds (killing [=NPCs=] and the like). There is no telling as to when the idea was scrapped and the Chariot was limited to just being the boss of the Undead Purgatory. This was revisited in a limited way by having the chariot's two-headed horse become a miniboss in Drangleic Castle in ''Scholar of the First Sin''.
** The Executioner's Chariot's location was also different in look, compared to the final version of the game. Previously, the Chariot would take up less of the hall, the boss arena was much less of a [[CorridorCubbyholeRun circle]], and there was no holes in the walls to hide in, making it seem like dodging the Chariot was your only option for survival. This can be seen in a few trailers as well as the gameplay demo they featured.
** The Manikin Mask was once a smooth porcelain mask, rather than the more human-like mask from the final product. Its unknown as to when it was changed, or for what reason.
** Straid's backstory was different in the Network Test than in the final game. His backstory in the Network Test was that he and the King of Olaphis slew an Ancient Dragon together, but Straid's magic eventually doomed Olaphis to damnation.
** Lonesome Gavlan was supposed to show up in the Gutter and Black Gulch, and had the appropriate dialogue for the areas. The idea was cut early enough that there aren't even any subtitles for the dialogue in the text dump of the game files, but is seemingly tied to the Gyrm's "home" being the weird shantytown in the Gutter before they were moved to the Doors of Pharros.
** The Agility stat was originally a stat that tracked the odds of evading chest traps.
** There are a number of cut items in the game files: more variants of greatarrows (Wooden, Magic, and Dark), more illusory Chameleon items, another Troches item that boosted equipment break resistance, a more powerful variant of the Aromatic Ooze called Pungent Ooze.
** Both Chancellor Wellager and Sweet Shalquoir were originally able to be killed, having death dialogue.
** The giants originally had [[http://fextralife.com/forums/t34379/giant-with-a-face/ a much different face]] at some point earlier in development.
** The Emerald Herald has a child model still in the game files. Similar to the Filthy Woman's Child from ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and the child version of Witch Beatrice from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'', Shanalotte's child model was likely cut due to the taboo of killing children.
** Originally, the game was planned to be much more open world, with a big map that connected all the areas, but at some point in production the overworld was removed all the areas were connected together in a way similar to ''Dark Souls''. However, due to this not being the original plan, a lot of the areas don't quite fit together that well if you think about it (the most blatant example being taking an elevator from the top of Earthen Peak upward to Iron Keep even though from what we see this is geographically impossible.)
** Some of the places in the announcement trailer were going to appear in the game but were cut early in their production. There are images of the very early very rough versions of the areas floating around the internet.
** Larger enemies were supposed to be able to break through walls and obstacles, to punish players who would try to glitch them out for free souls. In the final product, only one enemy does this (the Aldia's keep cyclops).
** Aldia's Keep was a much, much larger area, and it featured heavily in promotional material, implying it was supposed to be central to the game in some way. Early gameplay footage showed entire areas that would later be cut from the game. In the final version, it has been described by fans as an "over-glorified hallway", and in general is a pale shadow of what was seen in said gameplay trailers earlier.
** Majula, judging from [[http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2013/22/1370092924-dark-souls-2-art-9.jpg early concept art]], was originally supposed to be an active town of Undead with far more characters than any locale ever seen in the series. The final version, while much more lively and warm than [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsI Firelink Shrine]], is still a ruin only inhabited by a small group of Undead.
** Lucatiel and the model that was eventually used as the Bellkeeper soldiers were supposed to be a ''Souls'' take on Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. This explains Lucatiel's male outfit and why it is vaguely Hispanic styled.
** Judging by cut maps, the Old Iron Keep level was supposed to be much longer and take players through the factory that earned the Iron King that moniker. Elements of it were included in the form of the DLC area Brume Tower, but the assembly line rooms remained cut.
** Your torch was originally going to be a much more important tool. The original build of the game, seen in early gameplay footage, had a rather robust lighting system that would have dark areas get VERY dark, requiring you to have your torch to safely navigate those areas. Near the release of the game though the lighting system got gutted, leaving all areas being generally the same flat brightness, with the Gutter being one of the only areas to still be dark enough to warrant using it. Left overs of this can be seen in areas that are dark but not enough to use one, and the placement of spots where you can light up areas. The Lost Sinner boss fight was even affected by this. Normally, she would be fought in a pitch black cell, requiring you to either bring a torch in to be able to see her coming, or go out of your way to get a key so you could reach two oil lamps outside the cell that light it up, letting you fight normally. In the game proper, you can see just fine so lighting those lamps is completely unnecessary. The ''Scholar of the First Sin Edition'' did rework the lighting so that certain areas became actually dark again, making the Torch more useful, but it still isn't as dramatic as the early footage.
** There are several unused cutscenes hidden in the game:
*** There's more than a few involving Tark and Najka, showing what would happen to them when they were killed. Tark takes a skull amulet from Najka in her death throes and roars at the sky, while Najka takes a bite of a defeated Tark's face.

** Your torch was originally going to be a much more important tool. The original build of the game, seen in early gameplay footage, had a rather robust lighting system that would have dark areas get VERY dark, requiring you to have your torch to safely navigate those areas. At some point in development, the lighting system got gutted, leaving all areas being generally the same flat brightness. The Lost Sinner boss fight was even affected by this. Normally, she would be fought in a pitch black cell, requiring you to either bring a torch in to be able to see her coming, or go out of your way to get a key so you could reach two oil lamps outside the cell that light it up, letting you fight normally. In the game proper, you can see just fine so lighting those lamps is completely unnecessary. The ''Scholar of the First Sin Edition'' did rework the lighting so that certain areas became actually dark again, making the Torch more useful, but it still isn't as dramatic as the early footage.

*** Bell Guardians are "Bellfags" and "Clang-Bangers." Although they call themselves "Bellbros".

* NamesTheSame: The game's localization support was credited to a woman called Yoko Ono. We're ''pretty'' sure this wasn't [[Music/YokoOno the same person]] as Music/JohnLennon's [[YokoOhNo trope-naming]] lover.

** Majula, judging from [[http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2013/22/1370092924-dark-souls-2-art-9.jpg early concept art]], was originally supposed to be an active town of Undead with far more characters than any ever locale seen in the series. The final version, while much more lively and warm than [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsI Firelink Shrine]], is still a ruin only inhabited by a small group of Undead.

** ''The original storyline'', some of which can still be gleaned from the Network Test text files. The original plot involved gathering the means of powering a special pendulum that would let the user travel through time. During one particular time jump, you were able to encounter the child version of the Emerald Herald travelling with a shifty merchant, who you could rescue her from; she even had a sidequest where you could collect feathers for her, which explains the Aged Feather she gives you once you reach the Dragon Aerie in the final game. The Gyrm were used by the King to build and maintain the Castle's sewage system. The Undead Crypt was originally the Undead Citadel, an underground fortress for Undead that hated sunlight, with the Shrine of Amana being a hidden path to the Citadel that the Gyrm made under the King's nose. Shalquoir originally required a ring to even talk to her, similar to Manscorpion Tark in the final game.
** There was originally supposed to be an encounter with a dragon in Things Betwixt, but it was removed because it was deemed "too difficult and off putting for new players".

** Lonesome Gavlan was supposed to show up in the Gutter and Black Gulch, and had the appropriate dialogue for the areas. The idea was cut early enough that there aren't even any subtitles for the dialogue in the text dump of the game files.

** The developers originally stated that a skilled enough player could bypass the first half of the game through completing a NintendoHard dungeon. The inaccessible aqueduct seen running throughout Drangleic, which starts near Majula and arrives at Drangleic Castle, appears to be what is left of said shortcut dungeon.

** The Emerald Herald has a child model still in the game files. Similar to the Filthy Woman's Child from ''Demon's Souls'', Shanalotte's child model was likely cut due to the taboo of killing children.

** Judging by cut maps, the Old Iron Keep level was supposed to be much longer and take players through the factory thst earned the Iron King that moniker. Elements of it were included in the form of the dlc area Brume Tower, but the assembly line rooms remained cut.

** [=YouTubers=] [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI6keWArpxmfeiuAATv7jZw EpicNameBro]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxCY3iSwDX-h2wbxwfzkYJw A German Spy]] were hired to help write the official [=FuturePress=] player's guide. They've both been kept on for the ''Bloodborne'' guide.

* TroubledProduction: Whoo boy... [[http://peterbarnard1984.tumblr.com/post/113163062955/dark-souls-2-design-works-translation the interview with the director]] in the ''Dark Souls II Design Works'' reveals why the game seems so damn convoluted and different from the first ''Dark Souls''. The original director, Tomohiro Shibuya, was kicked off the team halfway through development for some unsaid reason. Yui Tanimura, the new director, had to salvage what all he could and re-purpose it into what became the final product. Lucatiel and the Bell Keepers were originally based on ''Don Quixote and Sancho Panza'' for fucks sake!
* UrbanLegendOfZelda: The credits inexplicably give the Emerald Herald separate [[TimeShiftedActor "adult" and "child" voice actors]], even though we only ever see her as an adult. This has lead to all sorts of rumors about seeing her as a child (mostly involve the [[PensieveFlashback Ashen Mist Heart]]), but there are no such lines even in the [[DummiedOut unused audio files.]] There ''are'' lines found in text dumps that imply that they were spoken by a younger version of her, but those were never even translated to English. (Source: http://illusorywall.tumblr.com/post/100174538929/dark-souls-2-unused-dialog-from-japanese-text)

** A couple minor things: the boss names for the Old Iron King and The Rotten were different in a couple of the earlier game builds. The Old Iron King had Ichorous Earth over its boss health meter and The Rotten was known as Griff the Rotten.

** Lucatiel and the model that was eventually used as the Bellkeeper soldiers were suppoesed to be a soulsy take on Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. This explains Lucatiels male outfit and why it is vaguely hispanicly styled.

* Lucatiel and the model that was eventually used as the Bellkeeper [[mook]] were suppoesed to be a soulsy take on Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. This explains Lucatiels male outfit and why it is vaguely hispanicly styled.
* Judging by cut maps, the Old Iron Keep level was supposed to be much longer and take players through the factory thst earned the Iron King that moniker. Elements of it were included in the form of the dlc area Brume Tower, but the assembly line rooms remained cut.

*** The Blue Sentinels are often referred to as the "BlueManGroup" or "Drangleic PD." The Blue Sentinels and Brotherhood of Blood are sometimes referred to as [[EdibleThemeNaming Blueberries and Strawberries]] respectively, as well. "Bluebro" is a general term for both Blue Sentinels and Way of Blue members, due to how they interact.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: The credits inexplicably give the Emerald Herald separate [[TimeShiftedActor "adult" and "child" voice actors]], even though we only ever see her as an adult. This has lead to all sorts of rumors about seeing her as a child (mostly involve the [[PensieveFlashback Ashen Mist Heart]]), but there are no such lines even in the [[DummiedOut unused audio files.]]

** Old Ironclads have been nicknamed Turtlemen, for obvious reasons. They're also called "[[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtles]]" because of how they'll flip back and crush you if you try to backstab them.

*** Bell Guardians are "Bellbros" and "Clang-Bangers."

* HeyItsThatVoice: Several voice actors from the previous [[Videogame/DarkSouls two]] [[Videogame/DemonsSouls games]] return, and a few other recognizable voices can be heard as well:
** Andy Gathergood (Felkin the Outcast) previously voiced [[Videogame/DarkSouls Laurentius of the Great Swamp and the Crestfallen Merchant]].
** Blake Ritson (Royal Sorcerer Navlaan) previously voiced [[Videogame/DarkSouls Griggs of Vinheim]].
** Daniel Flynn (Blue Sentinel Targray) previously voiced [[Videogame/DarkSouls Solaire of Astora, the Giant Blacksmith and Blacksmith Vamos]].
** Hannah John-Kamen (Sweet Shalquoir) previously voiced [[Videogame/DarkSouls Lord's Blade Ciaran]].
** Matt Morgan (Crestfallen Saulden) previously voiced both [[Videogame/DarkSouls Crestfallen]] [[Videogame/DemonsSouls Warriors]] and [[Videogame/DarkSouls Domhnall of Zena]].
** Peter Marinker (Straid of Olaphis) previously voiced [[Videogame/DarkSouls Kingseeker Frampt, Darkstalker Kaathe, Eingyi]] and [[Videogame/DemonsSouls King Allant]].
** Sean Barrett (Darkdiver Grandahl) previously voiced [[Videogame/DarkSouls Andre of Astora, Petrus of Thorolund and Ingward]].
** As mentioned below in PromotedFanboy, [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0784818/ Peter Serafinowicz]] voices Mild-Mannered Pate and the male version of the player character.
** William Houston, who previously voiced [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Marvelous Chester]], returns as '''King Vendrick''' in the ''Lost Crowns Trilogy'' DLC.
** Clare Corbett, who previously voiced [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls Saint Astraea]], [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Gwynevere, the female Undead Merchant, and Crossbreed Priscilla]], voices Alsanna in the ''Crown of the Ivory King'' DLC.
** David Gant, who previously voiced [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Oswald of Carim]], returns as the namesake Scholar of the First Sin, Lord Aldia.
** Carina Reeves (Rosabeth of Melfia) also voiced Fiora and the female "Classic" voice option in ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' and [[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX its sequel]] (respectively).