Dark Souls - Plays Like a NES Game

In a blog post at Gamasutra the author of this article state that Dark Souls feels and plays like a NES game used to feel and play.

This is something that gets thrown around a lot regarding Dark Souls. I never paid much attention to it - it's just something people say. (The same sort of people who think any game with pixel art is "8-bit") But when my friend who grew up on games like Castlevania 2, Rygar and Battle of Olympus said that I paid attention. The game made him feel the way NES games did. There's a lot to talk about with the design of Dark Souls so this is my angle: what are the specific design decisions that make it feel like an NES game? (Or alternately: unlike a modern game).

The author looks at different aspects of the game to support his statement.