Now I understand why people buy the same game over and over again in slightly different iterations...
It's like, I'm rationalizing to myself that this trilogy thing is a money-milking scheme; but just the correct brain-button was pushed that I want to buy it and I don't even know what it is yet.
To be honest though even after all the hours I spent on the game I left feeling more or less vapid from the experience. Apart from the Ruin Sentinels, the Rotten, the Looking Glass Knight, and Smelter Demon (pretty much the standard 'oh so difficult' bosses) I had little to no issue with any of the others. Also, the only reason I had any trouble with those is because they had the capability to one shot me.