[PS2] Shadow of the Colossus

I got the US version from my Secret Santa and played through it fairly quickly. I made an entry on my thoughts on it, back when the journals were still up. (this one copied from my LJ)

Quote:

I finished Shadow of the Colossus ;_; [29 Dec 2005|12:51am]

10:24:33 final time, I almost feel like I rushed it =/
I'm still at a bit of a loss for words on what to make of the ending and of the game as a whole.

The structure somehow manages to be both conservative and completely un-orthodox at the same time. The ending was bleak, disturbing, strange and yet completely beautiful at once. In a sense, it obviously wasn't as immediately satisfying as ICO's post credits sequence on that famous beach, but then that's exactly why I'm at a loss of words. The ending was just so.. strange, you don't know what to think of it.
In a way I am disappointed we didn't get to find out what caused all this and what happens now, but there's no question you experienced something completely spellbinding.

It's still very difficult to say whether and how exactly the game could tie in with ICO. It feels like the game might take place in the same universe as ICO, but the location is definitely different. All the visual similarities and hints of reference are pretty unlikely, though. Apart from the similarities of the girl's white dress compared to Yorda's, the hero's tunic compared to Ico's, the black shadowy material and forms, crumbling ruins and walls etc all point to something significant, but all the while there's a lot going against it. The hero's sword is different from both the normal sword and the lighting sword Ico finds, the girl's dress is intricately patterned and detailed, while Yorda's dress was plain white with slight black lines, the architecture of any of the ruins don't really match the castle in any way and I tried in vain to spot any kind of cliff faces or beaches similar to Ico's but no. If ICO did or does take place in the same world, it's certainly a million miles away.

Still, the similar concept of stopped time, forgotten worlds, lost civilizations and possibly even cultures. That feeling of isolation and loneliness, and at the same time of companionship with the only other soul there with you. Of tresspassing on something that must have been wonderful, millenia ago, it's all so very fascinatingly present in both games.

The 14th colossus was easily my favorite. There were a lot of absolutely spellbinding colossii, but the battle with the 14th was just brilliant. The whole set-piece was just unbelievable <3

Once I've thought more about the significance of all the elements in the story and especially the ending, I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say about it.

As it stands, just like its battles, SotC is breathtaking, utterly majestic and overflowing with so much sadness. Like ICO, you can just play it like a regular game and enjoy what (little) superficial gameplay it has, but in order to really make most of it, you need to stop and look. You must listen. You must feel. While running for the next target location, you should stop by one of the prayer totems and climb it. You should spin the camera around as you're standing on top of the massive statue, looking at the magnificent world around you. You should breathe in the melancholic stillness and calm. The soothing breeze and sunlight, the overpowering sense of loneliness, of guilt, of dread. You should pay attention to the inconspicuous ruins and lands, stop to observe them, to ponder their significance. Dream about what resided here, who might have walked and lived their lives there, what might have happened to them.

The fact that the games even make me think about this kind of stuff is a show of how wonderful worlds Fumito Ueda can create. I await his PS3 project with high anticipation.

Course I later found out there really IS a beach, but upon visiting it, it's definitely not meant to be the beach in ICO, if you will.

The recent European release of Shadow of the Colossus is wonderful and I bought myself a copy. The packaging is similar to the PAL ICO packaging, fancy cardboard case and postcards etc. The game offers 60Hz too, so there's no reason not to buy the European version (unless you already own the game, of course).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

There's no question that from a technical point of view the game had framerate dropping pretty often. This really didn't affect the experience itself as once you climbed on to a colossus, you never, not even once, noticed any drops.

It also seems the framerate was adjusted slightly for the PAL version. The rate still drops in many places, but it wasn't as severe as in the US version, which wasn't severe to begin with.

If someone honestly tries to claim the game is somehow less because of the framerate issues, there is something wrong with them and/or they're looking way too hard.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I think that was the only one where I actually shot a colossus in the eye =/

Originally Posted by surasshu

He also tried to climb to the secret garden, but it seems like the bugs that this guys makes use of don't exist in his copy of the game (he lives in Japan so it's the Japanese version). ;/

Yeah, that was removed, but apparently it's still possible to reach the garden. I was told you need to complete the game a few times but I've yet to confirm it. Perhaps an accurate "NTSC to PAL changes" guide will surface soon enough.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Elixir

What happened?

What do you mean what happened, I shot it in the eye and it crashed into a wall like it was supposed to.

My point was that that was the only time in the game I actually had to shot a colossus in the eye, which was strange/amusing in relation with Monkey King's post.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by B4-Hunter

ICO Beach?

We know that SotC happened centuries before ICO so it look's a bit different.

ICO Castle?

Same as above you can see it only from the bridge and it's quite not to well visible but its location is there it should be on map if we accept this beach as ICO beach.

I've visited the beach myself and I'm convinced it's not supposed to be the "ICO beach". I think it's just there to remind us of ICO, not necessarily say "This is where you end up in the other game".

Even if SotC took place in the same world centuries ago, how exactly do you think the beach would change? Water levels rise or lower? The beach in ICO is about the same lenght from the wall, so the water level is around the same, it's simply closed off, whereas the beach in SotC is shaped differently and much much wider, curving around the bend where ICO's beach had a closed off dead end where you woke up in the boat. This kind of thing doesn't change over centuries, the whole area would be gone if it did.


Secondly, that doesn't look like a castle at all, much less the ICO castle. If that is indeed the ICO castle, that should be the front (since the only piece of land around besides the castle island was in front of the main gate), in which case it's far too high, the ICO castle is much lower, much wider in structure and shape.



Still, fascinating details, I especially like that tree and feel an urge to go find it myself. And how did you get a white Agro? =/

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by B4-Hunter

It refers to ICO and we know that. From this point Unknown City is visible to.

How do you reckon it refers to ICO? =/ And what exactly does it refer to about it?

At most the connection between SotC and ICO would be that Wanda's sin and rebirth might be start of the superstition in ICO that horned people are the reason for all the misfortunes in the world. Beyond that, I really don't see any proof or plausible references.

To return to a previous point, it's doubtful the big structure is Wanda's town. We see him traveling a long, long way to arrive to the forbidden land, apparently traveling for days (further reinforced by Ueda's original description of a boy who rides and rides through fields and canyons for days carrying the girl, as well as the Emon's speech as they arrive to the forbidden land).

But then who knows. The structure would have to be pretty massive to be anywhere near his town and still be visible.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by B4-Hunter

P.S

Spoiler:

You know that in US version at the end there is no Mono at the alter and un Non-US version she's there? I can post shoots of it =).

Yeah I saw those. Sounds like a detail they just overlooked in the US version, they probably assumed no one would bother bunnyhopping all the way to the pedestal.

FELIPE NO

I haven't returned to the game for a while now, I've been not playing anything for ages and just now was busy replaying Manhunt. I figure I'll look it up on my next playthrough.

Most amazing jew boots

I just remember noticing midway that Wanda's hair looked darker than I remembered. I checked out the beginning again and realized his face and clothing were dirtier too, it was a fantastic detail. I love subtle stuff like that.

You should take those screens so that the light is on Wanda's face, not behind him. Now it's a bit unclear. If you get the sunlight on his face, the different haircolor and dirty face are clearly visible.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, I was thinking you run him forward to where the sunlight lands and turn him around, but I guess it'd be hard to get identical framing for all the pics.
The difference in skin tone and hair color would still be apparent, though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

My guess is that it's not available where he lives. For instance, they no longer install modchips in my country at all, there isn't a single company that does them.

Why he won't use a PS2slim with swap magic if his current console breaks down, I don't know.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Kairi Li

This game isnt suppose to have a long and well developed story like RPGs anyway...

No, it simply doesn't have an overly elaborated-on story. People get this idea that the story is somehow simple or less because they're not spoonfed cutscenes and hours of abysmal dialogue.

And considering how ridiculously few RPGs these days evidence any kind of sophistication in their storytelling, "well developed story" in RPGs is a bit of a hyperbole.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Spatula

You said this was the Brady Games guide artwork? Correct me if I'm wrong but so that's actually for retail in the US market, since Brady is basically a US company? Just want to clarify.

Yes, Brady Games is a US company, yes the book might still be up for US retail, no that's not "Brady Games artwork". It's official artwork, in this picture featured in the Brady Games guide.

I was speaking idiomatically.

This has been the one reason I've wanted a PS3 for a year now ever since I first heard it, but since there's still no name or anything of the title, I'll just happily hold off.

How ya doing, buddy?

Well, that's America for you. Home to the most terrible boxarts in videogame land.

The Japanese and European cover looked like this:



FELIPE NO