Tales from the Backlog - Episodes Tagged with “Dark Souls”

Video Game Music Appreciation 101 (with Rick Firestone & Charlie Young)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Join Dave and special guests Rick Firestone (Pixel Project Radio) and Charlie Young for an introductory lesson about how to listen to and discuss video game music in more effective ways. The episode starts with some terminology and examples, then moves to a "close listening" exercise where you can apply what was taught earlier. Hope you enjoy!

Guest info:

Charlie Young (he/him)
Rick Firestone (he/him)
- Check out Pixel Project Radio https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card and Introductions
2:00 Topic Introduction
7:36 Developing a Palate- Melody, Harmony, Rhythm
19:37 Developing a Palate- Timbre, Instrument Choice, Dynamics
33:42 Developing a Palate- Texture and Form
46:07 Developing a Palate- Character, Affect
1:00:39 Patron Thank-Yous
1:02:39 Close Listening- Champion Cynthia (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)
1:14:43 Close Listening- Decisive Battle: Yu Yevon (Final Fantasy X)
1:29:04 Close Listening- Gone Angels (Library of Ruina)
1:48:02 Close Listening- Alicia (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
2:09:02 Outro and Pixel Project Radio

Music used in the episode:

Earthbound OST- The Runaway Five on the Move! (Akio Ohmori, Ritsuo Kamimura, Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka)
Blue Prince OST- Stories of All Manor (Trigg & Gusset)
Super Mario Bros OST- Ground Theme (Koji Kondo)
Final Fantasy IX OST- Vivi's Theme (Nobuo Uematsu)
Final Fantasy IX OST- Steiner's Theme (Nobuo Uematsu)
Dark Souls OST- Gwyn, Lord of Cinder (Motoi Sakuraba)
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector OST- Signalchaser (Amos Roddy)
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum OST- Champion Cynthia (Go Ichinose)
Final Fantasy X OST- Final Battle (Masashi Hamauzu)
Final Fantasy X OST- Zanarkand (Nobuo Uematsu)
Library of Ruina OST- Gone Angels (Studio EIM)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST- Alicia (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier)

Video-

5th Elite Four Battle Cynthia- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vzpDrO9dH0
Pokemon Trauma Cynthia Battle Flashbacks- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEKlXY-SYc
Final Fantasy X Trailer- https://youtu.be/riNzVUJumM8

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

200: Dark Souls II (with Ryan Batie - Lightning Strikes Thrice)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Want more Dark Souls 2 podcasts? Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Every beloved series has its black sheep- Mario has Sunshine, Zelda has the DS games, and Dark Souls has Dark Souls 2. But to me, the things that make Dark Souls 2 divisive are the things that make it interesting. Not every new decision is a home run, but they're all ripe for discussion. And hey, good thing we have this podcast! And it's episode 200!

Guest info: Ryan Batie (they/them)

Check out the Pitch Drop Network https://pitchdrop.net/
Get bonus Pitch Drop shows via their Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/pitchdrop

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:15 Introductions
7:18 Our Histories with Dark Souls
11:19 Opening Thoughts about Dark Souls 2
18:51 Story and Themes Setup- Memory, Hollowing, World Design
30:26 More Theme Setup
35:51 Vibes, Atmosphere and Music
43:37 Examining Gameplay Changes
1:22:18 DLCs, Multiplayer and Comedy
1:31:42 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
1:34:25 Lightning Strikes Thrice Podcast & Pitch Drop Network
1:39:33 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
1:41:18 Spoiler Section- Trouble Areas
1:52:00 Spoiler Section- Vendrick's Story and Connections to Dark Souls
2:11:59 Spoiler Section- Aldia and The First Sin
2:21:56 Lucatiel and the Giants

Music used in the episode is credited to Motoi Sakuraba, unless otherwise noted. Tracks used: Main Menu, Majula, Ruins Sentinel (Yuka Kitamura), Milfanito, Fire Keepers, Fume Knight, Remains

Social Media:
BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

36: Elden Ring (with Ryan Juengling- List Off!)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Elden Ring Month has begun on Tales from the Backlog! Up first, Dave is joined by Ryan Juengling from List Off! to discuss FromSoftware's game of the generation candidate, Elden Ring. With the elevator pitch of simply "Open-world Dark Souls" and wild expectations from fans, Elden Ring had a higher bar to clear than many new releases. Did it meet or even exceed expectations, or did it fall short? Listen in to find out!

TIMESTAMPS
Intros, Personal Histories, Opening Thoughts 00:46
First Impressions, Approachability 13:20
Open World, Exploration 51:19
Platforming, Crafting 1:19:12
Story, Boss Fights 1:38:41
Music, Final Thoughts 2:09:44
SPOILER WALL 2:29:29

Check out List Off! for more of Ryan (and his awesome co-host Brian) and some great gaming lists and discussions! Find everything List Off! via this link!

[Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

Dark Souls 3 Bosses Tier List (FULL SPOILERS) (with Jake Anderson)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 25 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

(Full spoilers!) Dave is joined by returning guest Jake Anderson to tier-rank the bosses in Dark Souls 3. This is a game with some boss fights that are among the best in the whole series, and some that are straight up Not Fun. Find out where we're ranking bosses like Abyss Watchers, Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Slave Knight Gael and Sister Friede.

Make your own Dark Souls 3 bosses tier list here
And share it with us in the Discord!

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

30: Dark Souls 3 (with Adam Rivera)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 18 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Dave is joined once again by Adam Rivera to discuss the finale (for now) in the Dark Souls series. Dark Souls 3 combined the faster gameplay of Bloodborne with the usual Dark Souls gameplay, but was it a happy marriage? And what's going on with all the fan service? Find out how we feel in this episode!

*Both Adam and I had some technical issues in this recording that affected the audio quality, but the conversation is worth it, I promise! Sorry!

TIMESTAMPS:
Story and gameplay changes pt 1 12:52
Gameplay changes pt 2 42:22
Bosses and final thoughts 1:08:36
Spoiler Wall 1:27:24

Follow Adam on Twitter!

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

Dark Souls Bosses Tier Rankings (with Jack Allen)

Dave Jackson — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0500

The Furtive Pygmy Jack Allen returns, as we put every boss in Dark Souls into a tier list. Do the tier list yourself and share it with Dave on the podcast socials! Let's compare!

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

17: Dark Souls (with Jack Allen)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Dave is joined by Jack Allen to talk about the perfect Valentine's Day game- Dark Souls. Don't give up, skeleton! Dark Souls is a game that changed the way many people, your host included, look at video games, and specifically the way people look at difficulty in video games. Find out why we think this is truly worthy of that Game of the Decade title.

TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Dark Souls 10:50, Spoiler Section 2:21:47

Find Jack and his artwork at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!