Reasons ICO is probably the best game I’ve ever swooned over:
The Animation: The animation is so sweet. Sentimental and subtle. Like puppy-dog romance between children. You jump across a gap, and you call to her. She hesitates, steps forward, jumps. You catch her before she falls because she can’t jump far enough and pull her to safety. At the save points, when you’re both resting side-by-side on your little stone couches, if you press the “call Yorda” button once, you turn your head to look at her. Also, I think (but I’m not sure), that if you resume a game from a save point, Yorda pulls her head off of your shoulder, but it happens so quickly that so far I can’t zoom in fast enough to see it.
The Girl: Yorda is a frightened, confused, vulnerable girl. Not a stupid bimbo, which is what I was afraid of. She pulls her hair out of her face when she’s left idle as if she’s nervous and frightened. not like she’s primping. She steps hesitantly, unsure of what to do. She looks around for danger, but frequently watches you like she’s afraid to be left alone. She gasps when you swing your stick at things and tries to run away from danger (sometimes straight into a phantom, but whatever. I’m a spry 8-year old boy and can usually save her). If you fall off a ledge (and not die), she’ll gasp and run toward you. If you let a bomb explode in your face, she runs to your side to see if you’re ok. Her character cultivates this intense real desire to stay with her, regardless of the fact that if you leave her in the next room alone for too long, phantoms come and try to take her away. Even if there was no danger in her being alone, you’d still never want to let go of her hand.
The Language etc: Neither Yorda nor ICO speak English (or Japanese for that matter). Their speech is jibberish, but ICO’s is subtitled in English. Yorda’s on the other hand, is subtitled in this beautiful indecipherable script, meaning she and ICO can’t understand each other. And you only can understand your own speech. You as the player are really just as clueless as this little 8 year old boy (I’m convinced he’s 8. I’d like to know for sure though.). The world feels more “real” for that. no more badly dubbed or translated irritation. You’re looking into a fleshed-out world.
The Gameplay: There are no icons, no health-meters, no magic spells to cast. There are no lame-ass “collect 200 of this stupid item to get the stupid key” quests. No boss fights. No points, no scores. Either of you fall from too great of a distance and die, it’s Game Over. Yorda gets re-captured by the phantoms and it’s Game Over. But that’s all. It’s hard enough though. All of the rooms are difficult puzzle-based escapes into the next room. They’re non-repetitive, progressively more difficult and complicated, and the design of the castle itself seems to be real spacially. If you look out the window and see a windmill a few hundred yards away, chances are in the next few rooms, you’ll be outside and have to climb that windmill. In the puzzles, even in the very beginning of the game, there are no obvious visual or audio cues to give you any kind of clue as-to how to solve them (except once, Yorda ran excitedly over to some stone pillars I was supposed to push, but I interpret that as her anxiousness to get out of the castle. We’d just had a run-in with her “mother”). Even your first actions in the game are completely without any kind of tutorial. You figure out the buttons either by reading the little booklet, or just through trial and error.
*sigh*
This game is turning out to be all the things I hoped it would be. Which is silly, I guess. I’m trying to think of an analogy between the mainstream games that are out and this one to express how completely different this is from anything else I’ve played or heard of before. All obvious cues that say “you’re playing a game” are just gone. The only time you see the mediation of any kind of menu or information other than the subtitles is when you pause, save, or die. What kind of book does that? or poem? when all other books need chapter-breaks, or conventional climactic build-up, or antagonists or narrators. Back-story… but here the point of the game is to uncover the back-story as you try to escape from the castle. *purr*
I think this is the kind of game that might be a real challenge to enjoy for some people. especially those who might be used to more “action” based games with great big explosions, epic stories, gore, timers, or races. I think it might be a rare guy who loves a game like this. Maybe even a rare girl who might have by now become conditioned to love the “other” kinds of games. I’d just like to kiss anyone who loves this game as much as I do.
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So… what is “ICO”?
ICO is a PS2 game that came when it started, if you manage to find it. It should be really cheap.
Actually it’s not that “cheap” for being out so long. It’s pretty rare, but most ebay auctions aren’t closing for less than about 25 dollars. which yeah is cheaper than brand new, but…
i got mine for $14. I was stoked.
it’s the boy’s name.
I totally forgot about that game. It was one that I wanted to play so badly when it came out, but then forgot about.
Let’s put it this way: If you were around, we could both grab our respective guitars(fake the mandolin) and start playing the theme to this game. I was enamoured with this game for the longest time, seeing as how I haven’t played it since it came out the memory is a bit foggy but it’s in my top 20.
Note: When continuing a save game, yes, Yorda is resting her head on your shoulder. There’s one couch where you can see it I think.
What impressed me was the game was focused through a lens that demanded your attention without (as you said) needless stimuli. To me, the effect was one of a surreal world that was creepy in a slightly cerebral way. It was fantastical, and alien in the way that robots scare us if they look too much like a human(I wish I could remember the term for that). I don’t know if you’ve beaten the game yet, but I’d be interested in reading how you processed the game.
Also, there is a game called “Shadow of the Colossus” you may have heard of which is a prequel of sorts for all intensive purposes to ICO. Having played and then digested it to the full extent one possibly could, I was the slightest bit disappointed. Most of the reason for that disappointment should be noted as “Well, it ain’t no ICO!” The music is amazing, it perfectly underscores every battle with the colossi in three segments. There is also a subtle change to the “hero” as the game progresses which no game reviewer has talked about, and the companion aspect is there with your fittingly titled horse: Argo.
Although contemplative, the game has made some concessions to try to break into the mainstream a bit with unobtrusive health, grip and weapon indicators in the corner. You may not like the direction taken in the prequel, but I still recommend you check it out.
hahaha. I was just starting to try learning how to play some of the music. I downloaded the soundtrack about 2 weeks before I got the game.
And yes, I just finished it last night. But I guess my version of the game isn’t the one that lets you start a second game and have Yorda’s text show up in English and have the second controller control Yorda… I don’t understand which version is which, but I think mine has none of that stuff… i’ll have to mess around with it more.
God I loooved the ending. (not the stupid beach ending, but the game ending) It was so sad. I love how the story was executed through the actions and events in the game, rather than narrative. Everything was understated, but the story was still so powerful through the animation and through the events. Like, for example, you’re never told why the villiage sacrifices horned children, but you sort of figure out that it’s probably at the command of the queen, and if they don’t sacrifice kids, the queen probably holds the people in the village under her control and Bad Things ™ would happen. But it’s never stated. It’s something implied and you figure out on your own. THAT kind of thing is what I loved so much about the game.
I’ve never heard of the game Shadow of the Colossus, but i’m reading about it and it looks really spiffy. it might end up on my list of Games I Need. (but not now, because I’m thoroughly broke). Maybe I can find someone to lend it to me.
Anyway, I’m so happy someone else loves ICO as much as I do. :)
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