Although each game is distinct enough in its own right, it’s clear FromSoftware routinely revisits old ideas, repackages them, and improves upon them. Sometimes, this is most obvious in boss fights. The general design ofElden Ring’sMalenia andBloodborne’s Lady Maria boss fights, for example, are incredibly similar.
However, it seems this could have been the case too for Rennala. New evidence has surfaced that suggestsElden Ring’s Rennala boss fight is something FromSoftware could have cut fromDark Souls 3– namely from a boss fight with Rosaria.
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This was pointed out by FromSoftware-oriented YouTuber Zullie the Witch, who at first points out thesimilarities in Rennalaand Rosaria’s design. For example, both are focused on rebirth (even though it goes wrong), both naturally take up a nurturing position for their “children,” and their children are all grub-like manifestations capable of magic. Each arena, even, has cradles hanging from the roof, so it’s clear their general designs line up well.
What really sells it is data mining confirms that Rosaria’s boss fight was cut from the game, although likely early on in the conceptual phases. To support this is how FromSoftware uses the 5000-range character IDs exclusively for boss fights, and as pointed out by Zullie, this holds true dating all the way back toDemon’s Souls. The only two 5000-range NPCs without a boss fight include the Fire Witch, which Zullie states was replaced by Pontiff, and Rosaria. With the similarity of their designs, Rosaria’s character ID, and the other odds and ends inDark Souls 3andElden Ring, it seems highly likely that Rosaria was eventually a boss fight style revisited inElden Ringwith Rennala.
As aforementioned though, Rosaria’s boss fight was seemingly cut fromDark Souls 3early, meaning next to nothing of her tactics or approach is there. It would seem that at leastRennala’s first phasewould have lined up with Rosaria’s battle tactics, and it stands to reason that FromSoftware would revisit it. After all, it wouldn’t be the first concept the company has ever revisited.
Another example of this is PvP-oriented boss fights. There’s a clear line of evolution fromDemon’s SoulsOld Monk fight toDark Souls 2’s Looking Glass Knight. It stands to reason something similar happened here, with FromSoftware iterating upon the cut Rosaria boss fight for Rennala. After all, while games likeElden Ringleave a lot on the cutting room floor, that content can always be revisited. It makes FromSoftware’s game development approach all the more interesting, if nothing else.
Elden Ringis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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