Відео

@vinnyandlin8510 Thank you for finding that! I tried a few tricks to identify the sounds of the opening but it turned up no results. Edit: I've revised the captions to reflect the proper lyrics of the vocal track. Also, what a fascinating rabbit hole this sample is!

@@Nalhy There’s an article you can read about that titled “The Story Behind Ico’s “Terrible” North American Box Art”. But that piece doesn’t provide the full picture of *Why* they had to entrust a third party packaging company with the art. That question is explained by the fact that ICO released to the United States first, in a relatively unpolished state. Team ICO likely couldn’t afford the time it would take to develop their own packaging because they were rushing to get their game in a finished, presentable state for US players. They would then spend the months leading up to December adjusting and tweaking many aspects of the game, providing the polish that they didn’t manage for the North American release. That’s why the differences between English PS2 versions of the game (the NTSC-U and PAL regional versions) are so distinct.

@@themoongateofficial I imagine the Windmill puzzle was different in the demos because they probably still needed to modify the ledge detection on the fan blades. In the final game, they force you off the ledge if Ico's hands can't begin to match the vertical angle of the rotating fan blade. I imagine it took a bit of work to make that function properly. And until that was ready, they had to put spokes on the Windmill to convey the point of the puzzle without that special ledge detection.

@@Aria-Mirazaer I actually agree. There's something to this soundfont that feels familiar. I personally wouldn't find it out of place if it were among the tracks in Tekken 3's OST. But I'm no expert on what musical software would have produced these sounds, so I'm about as confident as you can be in that assumption.

@@teone_rgt Honestly, Yorda’s hair change gets way more noticeable in cutscenes. If you watch the Main Gate cutscene as it appeared on NTSC-U copies, you'll see the back of Yorda’s hair rise and fall like a cat flap. After the hair cut, it looks a bit more natural in those scenes. (I need to get around to the cutscene differences video, but emulator is really bad at capturing certain key visual effects. I may need to get outside help to record those scenes properly.)

@samucp1688 Thanks so much!

This would rely on Ueda knowing the lyrics to this song and translating them into Japanese, which was much harder to accomplish back in '97. I found a listing for the physical CD that Deep Forest had this song on, and they were generous enough to share photos of the pamphlet inside. They don't provide lyrics in the pamphlet, they mostly provide context for which continent and culture they pulled each folk song from, in English. And yes, that could've been a lead that Ueda used to seek out the lyrics to these folk songs, but even then he'd have to load up foreign sites (if they even existed at the time) that list these lyrics. And then he'd have to get a Hungarian-to-Japanese (or more likely an Hungarian-to-English *and* an English-to-Japanese) dictionary just to work through that first verse. I found it improbable that he knew the meaning of these lyrics at the time. Your interpretation of the lyrical application is still valid, I just don't think the intent was there. The most I guess might've been intentional is if he knew it was two different foreign languages being sung, which I have no proof for.

I am dying to see a Pc release for the remake of Sotc, imagine ultrawide , 4k and unlocked framerate, would be so awesome

I too

The camera change you mention is a kind of brief cutscene that only plays in the JP/PAL versions. It's interesting that it's there, because it inadvertently makes the area seem more interactive than it is. I think it's goal is to actually show players how impossible it is to overcome the gate. There's a similarly short cutscene you can see if you climb up a pipe in the Cogwheel area that should lead Ico back up to the ground floor, but it breaks as part of the cutscene, sending Ico back into the water. I'll probably make a short video showing this off sometime. Also thank you for the kind words I really appreciate it.

@@Mystic_Ode I think I remember the pipe you mention, breaking somewhere in the final area, from my playthroughs as a child. Although I never stumbled upon it again. The attention to detail in Ico, among many other things, is why I think this game fully deserves to be called a work of art.

@@yashveersingh6633 My comment there was in anticipation of people who believe Shadow of the Colossus enforces a retroactive continuity (retcon) that *should always* change the understanding of ICO. That is what I disagree with. For example, people don’t try to ponder the myriad reasons why the horned children exist anymore, because everyone has played Shadow of the Colossus and then agrees the only reason must be: Wander began the lineage of horned children. I think people are allowed to have that theory, but it shouldn’t be the default. Because tying these games together was not always the plan. The Sigil wasn’t used on the Colossi until around the time that The Spider colossus was designed. And you try telling me how Dormin, Emon, and Mono are supposed to fit into the original NICO multiplayer concept. The connections we find now are merely the result of Ueda deciding years later that he could form loose ties to his first work in an interesting way. The ties he makes back to ICO in SotC are inevitably influenced by SotC’s themes and its narrative, it is an add-on. But now, due in part to Shadow’s popularity within the Team ICO fan community, few are willing to accept a discussion of ICO’s lore that does not involve Shadow of the Colossus. Within the community that’s been formed, the game is not allowed to stand on its own. Bring up The Queen and someone else will bring up Dormin. And that’s very frustrating to me. Because I do like Shadow of the Colossus, but imagine if every time you wanted to talk about the Colossi and their potential origins, people asked why you didn’t mention Trico and implied that you’re being weird for not examining Shadow of the Colossus alongside The Last Guardian. In this case, of course, I did bring up SotC in my video’s discussion. But that was partly because I felt a pressure to do so. After all, if I hadn’t brought it up, how much of the comments’ section would be dominated by people mentioning the connection? This is why I ended up including it with the emphasis on conversation (compare and contrast) rather than deliberate connection. I want ICO to be analyzed independently, to stand on its own merits. Have conversations with the other games, but not be defined by their lore. If it needs Shadow of the Colossus to be a complete story, then ICO has no identity of its own. (I apologize if this comment felt heated. Your message was very kindly formatted and I appreciate that. If it felt like I was lashing out at you at any point, that was never my intent, but I’ve scanned this over a few times and don’t know to word any of this differently. I feel very strongly about this topic.)

@@Mystic_Ode though you think differently about this game than others ( everyone likes to relate the two games because of the similarities and make theories) I understand you. However would you like to relate the two games if ico was considered the prequel( that's how I perceive the two games) because then you wouldn't need sotc to explain icos story.

@@yashveersingh6633 I suppose if the additions SotC made to the lore were chronological, I would be more at ease connecting them. But I think the distance of time and space was very intentional. It feels like two episodes in an anthology. To give you my best answer, I'd probably frame it like this: The Pattern has a mystical quality, somewhat tied to the nature of the world's magic. At some point, humans discovered this facet of the world and used it for different purposes. They learned that it is something of an anchor for reflected sunlight and that they could convert that sunlight into a source of Light Magic with the proper technology. After this discovery, it was widely adopted as a symbol to distinguish one as part of a culture, specifically a culture of workers, architects, and the like. But this natural symbol of their world also references horned figures in its structure, and this works well for ICO's narrative in the sense that the horned children are literally being used by The Queen for the Light Magic they produce after being placed in their capsules. We see it happen when Yorda is turned into a shadow, the dormant magic within these horned people is critical for the ritual. Now, it's clear enough that the Colossi are somewhat unnatural in their biology. You can see the strange motor-like mechanism along Valus' nose in this video, for example. And Dormin was sealed away by mortals, who created these Idols that are bound to the Colossi. Regardless of their fur and otherwise natural looking bodies, there is certainly a semblance of construction to these beasts, so I find it likely that the weak points were also by mortal design. If the colossi just naturally had these shining weaknesses that their creators didn't intend, you'd think they might've tried to cover it more, like the little Colossi do with their armor. And I doubt they were short of materials to cover those spots, considering how many colossi have armor in pretty much every spot except their weak points. So the pattern was likely being intentionally placed for the purpose Wander uses. They installed a means to destroy these creatures, making it not easy, but certainly not impossible, for the one who wields the Ancient Sword, that will reveal the weaknesses. I don't think the sigil serves a function beyond showing Wander where to strike. If it is meant to serve a secondary purpose as, for instance, a ward against Dark Magic, it really fails to protect Wander from the shadowy tendrils at all. And it also fails to protect Ico for that matter, as he can be turned to stone by The Queen's Dark Magic. Anyway, with this usage on the Colossi, perhaps the association changes. Maybe the cloaks don't serve as a sign of the working class community in this place and time. And the horned figure present in the pattern is seen differently by the surrounding culture. Perhaps because of the situation with Dormin, it becomes a reminder and a warning. "Do not forget what we accomplished in sealing this evil." It does seem like a feat worth remembering and fearing, enough for near everyone in a tribe to be wearing it in some form. These are just various thoughts and guesses, of course. I don't 100% back these statements.

@@Mystic_Ode After already writing a comment with my own weak theory on the 2 games connecting, and then reading this, I have to say, I really like your point here. Very refreshing to see Ico being treated like a standalone game. And I will try to view it more and more from this perspective going forward.

@@Lalatellevizion Ico is certainly capable of supernatural feats, particularly in athletic ability and general durability. I believe there is magic inside of him and the other horned children that were sacrificed. But unlike Yorda and the Queen, he has no means to utilize magic beyond his passive strength. That internal magic may still may be affecting these switches. But it seems just as likely, given their size, that they either require multiple people to stand on them, or at least expect that to be common.

@@Lalatellevizion It is interesting, actually. Because when you start the game, we can see the doors are left wide open, it’s just the bridge that’s retracted. And remains open by default when Ico and Yorda first try to escape. If the doors were really open all the time, both parts of the gate’s latch should be equally worn away by the elements. It makes me wonder if the gates stay closed most of the time, but open for a specific occasion. Maybe as a signal to bring in a sacrifice?

@@masterknuckles1888 Thanks so much! Also I will confirm there was a message, but it was just a little silly. Idk if it would be worth scrubbing the video for.

Okami, Journey, Flowers, and Ico just give me a sense of peace that few other games have they’re just so cozy!!