The Dark Souls 2 Japanese beta is underway, which of course means that loads of delicious footage has snuck its way onto the internet. It's our biggest and best glimpse of the game yet, and if you want to remain purely unspoiled you definitely, definitely shouldn't watch it - even though you already have. The beta seems to comprise one twenty-odd minute area of the game, though each of the beta testers tackles it in their own way, picking from one of a variety of classes before delving in. I'm justifying watching it by telling myself that the game is months away, and it's likely to change from the state it's in now - once you've cooked up a similar lie, you can join me guilt-free after the break.

NeoGAF has collected the videos published so far, but expect the number to surge/decline as the beta continues, and depending on how Namco Bandai feel about that beta footage escaping into the wild. Here's a few of them, showing off the game's smoother animation, less cumbersome inventory, and newly time-limited co-op play, among other things.

The Western Dark Souls 2 beta is set to launch in a couple of weeks, on PS3, while the game itself is releasing mid-March - except on PC, where it will take a little longer.