The Last Guardian – The First Story

I have a feeling. It’s just an idea born from trying to understand how the latest game from Team ICO could possibly continue the legend of the boy with horns. While watching the announcement trailer I’m aware that Trico (the beast) has horns and while this is not unusual one has to assume that nothing is there without purpose or meaning (except the tortoise in SotC) and that these horns may provide an important clue as to the story behind all three games.

In Ico, the boy with horns is imprisoned within the castle for reasons of superstitious speculation. “For the good of the village” is the only reason garnered from the anonymous figures that guard Ico’s freedom. The boy without horns in The Last Guardian appears to befriend a beast with horns and it’s certain that the due embark on many wonderful adventures as they progress through the game.

The origins of Ico’s horns have been widely accepted as the direct result of Wanders fate in SotC. The horns on Trico are not at all similar and appear to be the horns of a juvenile creature as they are underdeveloped, one even appears to have been cut or blunted. But what if these horns were hiding a dark secret? What if the beast within was Dormin and that The Last Guardian tells the tale of his imprisonment unto the Forbidden Land found in SotC.

There are a lot of questions and, while The Last Guardian may provide some answers I’m sure that we will all be left a little bemused as the plot develops and more questions arise. To be perfectly honest I don’t care, not enough to spoil my enjoyment, because the act of playing Team ICO’s games is such a natural and wonderful experience that any pondering on the fate of the plot or the motivations of ‘the village’ are inconsequential.

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It's a Tragedy...

Studying Greek Mythology as part of my English Degree has allowed me to conclude that the story behind SotC is a tragedy. I have discussed the transcript of the game with a good friend of mine, an English lecturer at Lincoln University here in the UK and we both agreed that the game can comfortably be classified as such and that this tone helps impact the game upon the moral consciousness of the player.

If the protagonist ‘Wander’ had survived the ordeal to resurrect the maiden the story would not have the same impact. Tragic events allow stories emotional weight and deliver messages or carry feelings the characters experienced during the tale to the player.

A similar conclusion can be drawn against Ico. Although in this tale the ‘hero’ did not meet death, his heroin’s fate was not clear and many speculate that she was not resurrected, but her soul became the Queens possession. Her soul therefore became a part of the crumbling castle, never to escape. The ending of Ico requires the player to draw their own conclusions about the fate of Yorda and I suppose it depends greatly on the attitude of the player, pessimist or optimist.

The Last Guardian may also have the same tone throughout, although early observations believe the story to have a warmer feel to it plainly because of the relationship between the beast and the boy. It’s safe to assume from previous experience that The Last Guardian may have some moments of bitter pain or loss equal to the fall of Agro in SotC.

Team ICO appear to portray tragedy consistently and with a purpose, to draw in the player into the game deeper than if it were devoid of tragedy. This is something I have come to expect and indeed revel in experiencing.

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The Devil is in the Details

SotC is an amazing game. Few games can compare to the mood, story, animation, or characters encountered in this game. Personally it is the details which contribute to making this game special. Here is a list of those details in no particular order, and the reasons why I think they are important.

1. Agro – she is the most amazing character I have encountered in a game. Possessing more personality than any other game character I have ever seen in my 20 years of playing games. I love the way she moves, the animation of this horse is like nothing else. Having played Assassins Creed and riding a horse in that game, despite the additional processing power of the X-Box 360, Agro’s fluid motion on the Playstation2 is a marvel of programming and attention to detail which surpasses any other.

2. Wander – as an avatar I sympathise with his position immediately. The love he shares for the maiden is a love which has taken him to the end of the world to do battle with giant un-godly creatures and risk his own life to restore hers. At every point he displays emotion from the way he stares at his love, to the way he rides Agro. Everything about him is so full of meaning a thought that few avatars have ever come close.

3. Colossi – The stars of the game. The Colossi are quite simply one of the most amazing things ever seen in a video game. The way they move, the way they stare at you, to the way they react when injured. Towering above you with complete dominance they create an air of mystery and fear.

4. The Landscape – The Forbidden Land is vast, but this size is necessary to making you feel small and alone. There are areas of the map which feel so well accomplished that they make you feel you are part of something very special and change your mood accordingly such as the rocky waterfall paths, the dark forests and the huge open dessert complete with sandy ruins and dunes.

5. The Wildlife – Lizards, doves, eagles, fish and even tortoises. The lizards are quite hard to catch. On my first run through SotC I wasn’t even aware they existed. It was only after I managed to obtain the Lizard Detection Stone that I realised they were there and that they played an important role by increasing ones stamina. I love the way they react to Wanders presence and try to hide.

The doves appear around the alter in the temple every time a colossi is defeated and the eagles track your journey across the landscape. At the time of writing this I am yet to find a use for the tortoises, they are just there. The same goes for the fish, though I suppose a pond wouldn’t be complete without them.

6. The Save Points – Games rarely incorporate save points into a game with such thought. Usually they either crop up without warning or they are a sub menu in the pause screen. SotC makes them a part of the landscape and they work them into the game with meaning by allowing Wander to ‘pray’ whenever saving a game. When a game is loaded Wander is found dozing with his head in his arms giving the impression that little time has passed but while you were away he had a well deserved rest.

7. The Sword – Wanders arsenal of swords help him in different ways. The default sword lights his way to the next colossi as well as helping him take it down by lighting up the vitals on a colossi. The sword can also be used to kill various wildlife for Wander to eat and the un-lockable swords, such as the sword of the sun can help light Wanders way in darkened caves.

8. The Bow and Arrow – My favourite weapon in the game. The Bow and Arrow help Wander grab the attention of the colossi so he can goad them into a certain position or location. They also allow him to capture the elusive lizards, shoot birds, fruit from trees and fish from the water. Shoot an arrow into a pond and it behaves realistically by diving, then re-emerging on the surface and floating about. If you already have the bow drawn with an arrow and you don’t want to take the shot it can be cancelled by pressing the circle button whilst aiming. Wander replaces the bow into its holster.

9. The Wind – Without the windy weather I doubt SotC would carry the same atmosphere (excuse the pun). Constantly tearing at the clothes and hair of the duo and making a wonderfully earthly noise, the wind makes me feel so lost in the wilderness and somehow makes the landscape seem much larger and older than it appears.

10. The Map – As the forbidden land is vast and mysterious it would be a shame if the map was too helpful. Fortunately it isn’t. Mostly covered in cloud until explored it simply acts as a guide and does not show you exactly where to go, only where you’ve been. The map is quite vague in parts and cannot be relied upon which, in my opinion is the way it should be.

These are simply a drop in the ocean of what SotC has in terms of details and accomplished design. No other game has come close as far as I’m aware and it is a shame that developers don’t replicate Team ICO’s design ethic to create games with such flair, feeling and thought as SotC has.

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A Bridge Too Far

The long stone bridge which connects the outside world to the tower at the centre of the landscape in SOTC is truly massive. Having reached the secret garden I wanted to explore further and I was aware that, having rode underneath it so many times, the stone bridge was massively long and very high.

With the destination in view I set off from the tower along the bridge. Now I never really appreciated just how long this bridge was until I undertook this wandering. Literally five minutes later of running along the narrow bridge I was still someway off the end and the entrance to the forbidden land.

Looking down at the ground as I ran became slightly hypnotic, each new tile blurring into the next and giving the appearance that the journey was not preceding. This continued for another five minutes until I finally bumped into the wall at the end and fell over.

I got to my feet somewhat bemused and bruised and attempted to exit the forbidden land but due to the weather I was not able to escape. A strong wind refused to allow me to walk through the corridor between the two pillars guarding the entrance. Every-time I tried I was blown off my feet and cast to the ground. So it appears that once you enter you are a prisoner, your only chance or survival is to eat the lizards and fruit and chase tortoises until you finally die of age.

Having reached the other side I was in no mood to walk back again. I gave out a long hard whistle to my loyal horse Agro. After a few minutes she finally arrived below the bridge, running in circles and calling to me. Equipping the Cloth of Desperation I jumped off the bridge and used my chute to drift slowly down onto Agro’s back. Pulling sharply on the rains Agro reared up and we galloped off into the dusty distance towards the tower to hunt the next Colossi.

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Ico

Ico is the first game from Team ICO. Released in 2001 on the Playstation 2, Ico was originally destined for the Playstation 1, but it was decided by Sony that the fledgling consoles weak game line-up at launch needed stronger better games. And so Ico's release on the PS1 was cancelled and it was developed and released for the PS2 instead.

Ico is very unusual and is not like most other Playstation games. Ico blends soft flowing imagery with harsh angular architecture to produce a dreamlike quality which is rarely seen in games.

Ico is also the name of the playable character, a young boy with horns. His aim is to escape a dark crumbling castle in which he was imprisoned. Early on he rescues a young girl called Yorda from a cage suspended from the castle ceiling and they both must escape while avoiding being captured by strange dark creatures which also inhabit the castle. These creatures are not unlike those seen standing around Wander in SOTC every-time a colossus is defeated. The creatures attempt to kidnap Yorda if she’s left alone for too long and you have to call to her or grab her hand and pull her to safety while attacking them with a stick or a sword. It’s all very tense at times and the creatures are quite persistent.

The main attraction is the castle which is quite simply massive. Each room contains a puzzle or a path which is related to another rooms puzzle. It’s quite difficult to understand how the rooms link together and you must keep track of where you are and where you came from. This is the challenging part of Ico, the castle is a massive puzzle of interlinking rooms and pathways that for the most part don’t give any clues as to how they relate to each other. Only persistence and careful thinking about how the rooms relate to each other will allow you understand the puzzles.

It took me about a year to complete Ico. When I did it felt very rewarding. I won’t spoil the ending for you, needless to say it is worth the effort should you choose to undertake such a task as beating the castle and its secrets.



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Ico

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The First Encounter of a Massive Kind

After watching the intro movie (it helps set the scene in any game) and thinking how beautiful the game world looked with it’s tall structures and watercolour palette, Wander and I set of on our trusty steed toward the light as ordered by the voice in the sky.


Getting outside for the first time I witnessed a huge area of grassland framed by tall cliffs on all sides. Holding aloft my sword in the sunshine I saw a beam of light piercing from the blade heading straight ahead. Crossing the plain toward the light I came across a cliff wall. Looking up I could see a path up the cliff so I jumped down of my horse whose name I had learnt was 'Agro,' and proceeded to scale the vines upon the cliff.

After a few acrobatics I reached the top at which point a cut-scene played showing the colossus walking past, shaking the ground and the trees. I was in awe at the sight of this giant of rock and fur and my mind wondered at how I was going to kill such a beast.

I scrambled up the rest of the cliff and walked slowly toward the colossus which had his back to me in the distant mist, plagued by a flock of birds. He started to turn. His eyes looked on me and I felt fear as I engaged the colossus for the first time.


Running toward his feet while looking up at the huge towering beast, his club came down, smashing the ground and causing me to lose my balance. Then his foot landed just short of my head and I was thrown about the ground causing myself injury.

I got to my feet and looked about his. Surely I must scale this giant to take it down? Jumping at his heels I finally managed to grab his thick hair and was tossed onto his calf. I stood there for a moment before his leg swung violently, flinging me off onto the ground again.

I quickly composed my self and again headed for his heels being careful not to get trod on. Eventually I managed to get onto his calf again and this time I noticed a gash on his leg. I raised my sword and brought it down into the giants ‘flesh.’ He roared with pain. I did it again, this time with more aggression and the giant fell to his knees.

I continued climbing the giant using his fur to scale his legs toward a small platform I found on his back. Up further still I climbed, all the while the colossus writhed about, trying to get me off himself.

I finally reached his head where I found a glowing patch of white skin. He wasn’t happy I was there and flung his head about violently trying to remove me. I prevailed and raised my sword to bring it down into his skull. He roared with pain as black magic spewed from the wound. I raised my weapon again and drove it into his head several more times, each time the dark gas spewed forth until finally he fell to the ground, tossing me off his head.

I got back to my feet and looked at the slain beast. He was completely still and silent, like a statue. He was being enveloped by a dark layer of mist along the length of his body until he was entirely consumed. I hadn’t notice that at the same time thick black spines were whirling about the sky. They sought me out and impaled my fragile body through the heart at which point I collapsed into the dust beneath my feet.

The world became serene and I faded out into a tunnel of light.

I awoke back at the temple, my horse had returned and as I tried to make sense of it all I heard a deafening noise behind me as one of the statues was pierced with white light and came apart into a thousand pieces.

I then heard the voice in the sky telling me ‘thy next foe is…’

I was terrified, but I couldn't wait to see the next!

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