First off, I would like you all to gather 'round and behold my new article, just as a proud father would show pictures of his newborn. Miniboss Monday is dedicated to the memorable struggles in gaming, both of the mini and not-so-mini variety.
To kick things off right, I've chosen one of the most notorious baddies out there who made us scream like little schoolgirls when we first encountered him. The Butcher's blood-curdling quip "Ahhh, fresh meat" haunts many gamers to this very day. Do you remember the first time you stumbled upon his room?
Hit the jump for a bloody walk down miniboss memory lane.
As shown above, The Butcher effortlessly massacres these bewildered newbies who think a simple door might be able to stop him if they just run away enough. Oddly, this is a fairly similar scenario that most of us experienced the first time we played Diablo and reached this menace. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, let me back up a bit and recall how the stage is set for this inevitable meeting.
You begin Diablo in the desolate town of Tristram. You'll meet a few folks and are soon informed about mysterious goings-on at the local church that has now been desocrated by untold evils. As you walk the short path to reach the church, you'll (usually) notice a bloodied, half-dead man clinging to life outside of the church's doorway. He tells the tale of The Butcher, and asks you to avenge him and his brethren by putting an end to his douchebaggery.
If you head back to town to inquire about the beast with Griswold, the town blacksmith, he speaks of The Butcher's Cleaver, hewing flesh, limbs, and bone. At this point you're thinking to yourself "Great, just great..."
As you make your way to the second level of the church, you will soon come across a blood red room filled with slaughtered carcasses. Needless to say, the door is shut and now isn't the time to go trick-or-treating. Opening the door, The Butcher lets forth the aforementioned battlecry as he charges for you to put an early end to your adventure.
If you successfully slay him, you will be rewarded with his cleaver, a fairly unimpressive one-handed axe, but a grand trophy of your first accomplishment in Diablo. Pat yourself on the back, hero, you deserve it.
Here's a little bonus for you Diablo fans out there; a short CGI video stored on the disc that was supposed to be played when you opened the door to his room, but was never implemented in-game.
Contest:
9:47 AM on 02.19.2007
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(runs, hides)
The Butcher was certainly a pretty scary guy, and a great example of how alot of the horror and darkness of the first game didn't translate into Diablo II.
Thanks for all the kind words!
/Why does D-Toid advertise for Liberty University? That place is like Nazi Germany.
Something happened, though. I think true evil was at work. In that same quest to Diablo, I entered...level 12 or 11, I don't remember exactly...and the whole, entire screen was full of Maelstorm's. Somehow, the engine generated a screen full of open space with no walls and every possible space on the screen filled with these lightning cumming whores.
Anyway, I got pissed cause I had no way to take them out, those stunlocking bastards. I finally popped Diablo back in right around this time last year and beat it. The Butcher was still pretty easy. And I still clear out every monster.
The butcher was a pain the first time you encounter him, because you just open up the door and he marches out and kills you. After that he's managable, especially as a Rogue with something simple Bow of the Bear. None the less I was always super-careful to edge around his corridor, desperately intent on not accidentally clicking his door.
I remember a particular LAN party when our Sorcerer opened the door without realizing what was inside. He died, and failed to live the event down for several years.
That said, King Leoric is probably a harder fight, if you haven't leveled up Holy Bolt that is.
I REMEMBER THE BUTCHER!!!!
i literally jumped when i first walked in... i jumped and then freaked out.... my adrenaline was pumping like crazy... i just ran for my life
i turned to actually fight him when i eventually got my wits back but soon realized i didnt have a snowball's chance in hell
Thanks.
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! FRESH MEAT!!!!!!!!
I remember the Butcher all too well..
That guy in the first clip didn't have a chance... But i don't remember the Butcher being that fast...
- @BlackDove & momiji58: His catchphrase is amazing, shame there is no video out there with it. :(
- @argon & WhiteX: The Smith(Act 1) says "I will make weapons from your bone!" and there's also Hephasto the Armorer in the Hellforge/Act 4 that is a bit of a tribute to The Butcher. Furthermore, there is a unique axe known as the "Butcher's Pupil", also paying homage to this beast.
I've never met a bunch of cool people, and I'm sad I lost touch.
Anyone else, when bored with the game, camp out in "town square," one of the channels?
:)
I agree with this. Not that Diablo 2 didn't have an epic-feeling storyline that spanned continents (and felt like it), but it just didn't creep me out quite like the original.
I've thought about why this was. My two main thoughts was the psychological effect of going *down* so many floors. I distinctly recall the first time I went down into the second tileset. (what was it, the Catacombs?) The music made it sound old, musty, forgotten and so distant from anything else. The graphics made it look like you really were a hundred feet down, and no one would ever find you or rescue you. Secondly, I think it was the claustrophobic hallways.
Yeah, good times, indeed.