In Ico, I noticed that when you're walking with her, hand-in-hand, the controller rumbles like a heartbeat. Only when you're walking, not when you're running.
Well, I just suprised myself by blasting through all the normal time-trials on my first try.
I remember most of those being harder last time I tried. (A few annoying resets notwithstanding)
I'm glad I did it before I tried to get all the lizards/fruit trophies, I forgot you got items to help with that.
A hint for the people who keep losing grip during the excessive flailing; it might just be me, but I thought that if I got away from the weak spot, they calmed down a lot faster. It became quicker to stab once or twice, back off, then go back to it after they calmed down.
I notice a lot of you complaining about flailing. Just want to note that a few Colossi have asked nicely to be stabbed with repeated small strikes, that don't allow them to get into a full on swing mode.
That said, I think some of the issue is faster frame rate/responsiveness, so it feels different.
Yeah, I'm starting to get back into the swing of things and am falling in love with these games all over. The sheer artistry on display is just unrivaled in the medium. That underwater dragon colossus just sends shivers down my spine every time, it's so creepy but beautiful.
Okay, I just managed to get Agro onto the second flying colossus.
It dived into the sand, I chased after it, then it burst up and took me and my horse with it.
Okay, Agro fell off almost immediately after we got up there (although the falling over animation kept him on the colossus until we reached cruising altitude), but it's still the fastest kill I've ever gotten against that thing.
Also, props to Agro for being the toughest horse in existence.
Fucking Sony. The dynamic themes and behind-the-scenes videos still aren't available in EU regions. It's been almost two weeks since the game came out! Get your act together, Sony.
Fucking Sony. The dynamic themes and behind-the-scenes videos still aren't available in EU regions. It's been almost two weeks since the game came out! Get your act together, Sony.
I was wondering about that! Thought I'd been sent a re-sealed copy, since it arrived a week late.
I think the entire thing's pretty bloody iffy anyway - can you imagine paying £25 for a Blu-Ray on the week of release, and the disc just being the bare-bones film with a little leaflet explaining you could download the extras via the studio's exclusive service? I know it's to punish second-hand buyers, but it particularly sticks in the craw when the games themselves must occupy a fraction of the disc space.
Loved the reversible case though - wish more of the 'HD Classics' did this.
Fucking Sony. The dynamic themes and behind-the-scenes videos still aren't available in EU regions. It's been almost two weeks since the game came out! Get your act together, Sony.
I was wondering about that! Thought I'd been sent a re-sealed copy, since it arrived a week late.
I think the entire thing's pretty bloody iffy anyway - can you imagine paying £25 for a Blu-Ray on the week of release, and the disc just being the bare-bones film with a little leaflet explaining you could download the extras via the studio's exclusive service? I know it's to punish second-hand buyers, but it particularly sticks in the craw when the games themselves must occupy a fraction of the disc space.
Loved the reversible case though - wish more of the 'HD Classics' did this.
Fucking Sony. The dynamic themes and behind-the-scenes videos still aren't available in EU regions. It's been almost two weeks since the game came out! Get your act together, Sony.
I was wondering about that! Thought I'd been sent a re-sealed copy, since it arrived a week late.
I think the entire thing's pretty bloody iffy anyway - can you imagine paying £25 for a Blu-Ray on the week of release, and the disc just being the bare-bones film with a little leaflet explaining you could download the extras via the studio's exclusive service? I know it's to punish second-hand buyers, but it particularly sticks in the craw when the games themselves must occupy a fraction of the disc space.
Loved the reversible case though - wish more of the 'HD Classics' did this.
I think the entire thing's pretty bloody iffy anyway - can you imagine paying £25 for a Blu-Ray on the week of release, and the disc just being the bare-bones film with a little leaflet explaining you could download the extras via the studio's exclusive service?
I don't really have any Blu-ray experience, but I was under the impression that they DO do this. Is that not what BD-Live was created for?
Fucking Sony. The dynamic themes and behind-the-scenes videos still aren't available in EU regions. It's been almost two weeks since the game came out! Get your act together, Sony.
I was wondering about that! Thought I'd been sent a re-sealed copy, since it arrived a week late.
I think the entire thing's pretty bloody iffy anyway - can you imagine paying £25 for a Blu-Ray on the week of release, and the disc just being the bare-bones film with a little leaflet explaining you could download the extras via the studio's exclusive service? I know it's to punish second-hand buyers, but it particularly sticks in the craw when the games themselves must occupy a fraction of the disc space.
Loved the reversible case though - wish more of the 'HD Classics' did this.
So you don't have an extra selection in the Game Menu beneath the game launcher with videos and themes? That sucks, because the dynamic themes are pretty.
I'd completely forgotten just how beautifully wistful that tune is which plays every time Ico and Yorda sit down on one of the stone sofas. It's such a simple tune, yet it brings a lump to my throat every... single... time.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
As video games have become more and more popular, the medium’s defenders have developed a misguided tendency to point to the ways that games are useful, practical, functional. I do not know if Ueda’s games will make you smarter, or improve your vision, or promote world peace. I very much doubt, in fact, that they will do any of those things. Emphasizing the ways that games are tools for instruction—whether intellectual, physical, or moral—is an unfortunate residue of their origins as children’s playthings. Abandoning it will be the sign, maybe the last one, that this new form of storytelling is all grown up.
Just finished Ico the other night, turns out I never have done before (I thought I had, I was wrong). I'm now on to Colossus 4 of SOTC, which I've definitely finished before. Shockingly, awesome as SOTC still is, I think I prefer Ico and am very excited for Last Guardian.
So I got the ICO SOTC collection and I'm playing both games at the same time. If I get frustrated in one i switch to the other. I love both of them (although I prefer SOTC). But there's one thing I can't stand...
Why does wander and the kid of ICO take forever to get up when knocked down. It's annoying, especially when I'm racing to save the girl from being taken by the shadow guys. I know they're trying to be realistic but it's a little grating. That's my one gripe about these games. Otherwise they're gorgeous in HD and I'm having a lot of fun.
The spring block jump from the EU/JP version is killing me. The one by the waterfall. If you've played it, you know what I mean. My wife and I were both helpless against its bouncinrss. Is there something I'm missing?
The spring block jump from the EU/JP version is killing me. The one by the waterfall. If you've played it, you know what I mean. My wife and I were both helpless against its bouncinrss. Is there something I'm missing?
No, you're not missing anything, it just sucks. I got it after about 6,000 tries -- for me the most challenging thing was not pushing buttons too fast: Jump, climb, turn, jump, all as distinct actions. Personally, I think that's one thing that was better in the original NA release . . .
Playing through SotC on normal, I thought the people complaining about you flailing around a lot more than in the original were just imagining the difference. But on hard, there's a pretty f'n obvious problem. When I have to beat the big asshole with the sword in 5 minutes but I'm spending 3 minutes just trying to get the first symbol because I'm flailing around at the slightest bump, there's a problem. I managed to beat all the Hard Time Trials in the original version, so I fail to see how it's a skill issue.
Edit: FFFFFFFF- Got two seals down and had 45 seconds to do the third but was running out of grip and fell off when hurrying back to a spot I could rest. This after at least 30 attempts. So pissed. And then the next retry, he just keeps f'n walking towards me. Doesn't even attempt to swing his sword. Can't wait to kill this dick.
Edit #2: YEEEESSSSSSSS! 4 or 5 attempts later (all of which were no longer than 30 seconds) I got it with only 4 seconds left. Hardest one down now, with only 4 to go (6, 8, 12 and 15). I'm on track for platinuming SotC, Uncharted 3 and Batman: Arkham City before AssRev arrives (which'll be the 22nd for me, as I'm importing from the UK).
The spring block jump from the EU/JP version is killing me. The one by the waterfall. If you've played it, you know what I mean. My wife and I were both helpless against its bouncinrss. Is there something I'm missing?
No, you're not missing anything, it just sucks. I got it after about 6,000 tries -- for me the most challenging thing was not pushing buttons too fast: Jump, climb, turn, jump, all as distinct actions. Personally, I think that's one thing that was better in the original NA release . . .
I think you're thinking of the wheel, not the bouncy block. I got the block fairly easily, just hit jump as it's going upwards I believe.
The spring block jump from the EU/JP version is killing me. The one by the waterfall. If you've played it, you know what I mean. My wife and I were both helpless against its bouncinrss. Is there something I'm missing?
No, you're not missing anything, it just sucks. I got it after about 6,000 tries -- for me the most challenging thing was not pushing buttons too fast: Jump, climb, turn, jump, all as distinct actions. Personally, I think that's one thing that was better in the original NA release . . .
I think you're thinking of the wheel, not the bouncy block. I got the block fairly easily, just hit jump as it's going upwards I believe.
Yes, you're right -- I was thinking of the wheel, not the block. The block was also irritating (although less so), mostly because I remembered that room from playing the US game on the PS2 and couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do in the new version until I found it on YouTube.
Yes, it made me curse and scream and throw my controller. But I always picked it back up. Because, damn is this shit epic. And I'm one of the few people I know of who went back through and did all the time trials for the sweet loot... on hard. Yeah.
Among my favorite moments was just throwing caution completely to the wind (quite literally) and jumping to places I shouldn't have been able to during the flying (water) colossus. Like, using the physics to kind of catapult myself farther forward than I should have been able to go. There are all kinds of ways to do that that aren't immediately apparent in certain fights. Yes, you do still have to grab hold every now and then, but it's entirely possible to be creative about how to get from point A to point B in some cases using the motion of the colossi themselves.
And yes, jump stab fo' life. You have to get creative about fitting that in. As for the lizards and the fruit, I felt that those elements were essential to provide contrast to the epic-epicness of the boss fights. And they're more fun than they have a right to be.
Exploration is its own reward in this game--it's just so pretty for a PS2 title. This is also a good example of how letting players work things out on their own is often a better design choice. For example, I remember figuring out how to stand and jump from the horse on my own, then having that "aha!" moment of genius where I decided I'd try to snag that eagle who's always swooping in. Of course, I didn't expect it to work. Imagine my surprise when I not only grabbed that fucker, but he took me over a tall cliff's edge and soaring for what seemed like minutes. Goddamn. So good.
Okay, I had this problem with 15 and I'm having it with 16 as well. The annoying-as-shit flailing around. I've figured out what to do. I've made it to their vitals. God damn it, just lemme kill it. I can't get more than a couple of stabs in before I have to step away to let my grip meter restore. This isn't difficult, it's just fucking tedious. Keep R1 pressed 'till you get a 5-second window to stab the motherfucker for every 60 seconds of flailing. What fun!
Well, yeah, it is actually. You're focusing too much on the nitty gritty--look at the big picture. You're fighting a giant fucking thing comprised of earth and flesh the size of a small (or not so small) sky-scraper with a teeny-tiny sword. What approach do you think would yield better results? Just whacking at his ankles, maybe? Come on. More to the point, if they gave you all the time in the world, you'd start to wonder why the game is making it so easy for you. What are the colossi supposed to do? Stand patiently by while you shiv them over and over? That shit looks like it hurts, after all. I can see why they'd want to shake you the hell off.
And finally, here's the real reason for that design element: it makes things tense. Particularly if you're emotionally invested in the outcome like I was. Personally, every time I got up to the top where I could do some damage, my heart would be pounding out of my chest and I'd be thinking to myself that this is the moment--this is what you worked for! Now make it count! Aim True!! "BRRRRAAAAAARRRRGHHH!!!!!!!!" (that's a Howard Dean-ish battlecry).
Now, I don't know about you, but the catharsis of plunging your weapon into it's fleshy bits, after being tossed about like a rag-doll and clinging on for dear life, is... well, there's been nothing else like it in any other game I've ever played. Makes any frustration encountered along the way totally worth it.
Your mistake may be that you're still thinking of it like a game while you're playing. You need to quit that. Take the frustration and channel it
I'm not saying there should be no flailing about. You're right, that final stab totally is cathartic. But that last colossus took me more than ten minutes of "being tossed about like a rag-doll and clinging on for dear life" and that's just too much.
Seriously, you wrote about 4 paras arguing over something I never claimed.
I don't know if the flailing really is worse compared to the original or if it's just in our heads, but I did find it a lot more tedious this time around. I'd often only be able to get a handful of mini stabs in before I had to climb down and rest up my grip strength again for another try.
Earlier in the thread people recommended doing the jumping lunge attack or something, but I never learned the key combo for that.
Key point is that he's still there working on it, so he obviously hasn't been pushed out of the company for some reason or another. I'm guessing he's burnt out, having been working on Last Guardian for nearly 6 years at this point. Hopefully he does a Jaffe/Dylan Jobe and founds his own studio. I think a smaller team somewhat similar to thatgamecompany would suit him pretty well. Sony would still be the ideal partner at that point too, as I can't see any other publisher giving him the freedom that they have over the years. Most (including Nintendo) would make him work on games they view as more commercial.
I'm not sure what to make of this, but I just got an automated call from GameStop saying that the vendor has cancelled production of the last guardian and to come into the store to get the money back or to put it on another reserve. I've had the reserve for a year or 2 at this point, and it seems wierd that they would be cancelling pre-orders when the game might be coming out next year.
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I'd much rather hold a girls hand and walk around with her instead of hunting down giants and attacking their weak points for MASSIVE DAMAGE.
I remember most of those being harder last time I tried. (A few annoying resets notwithstanding)
I'm glad I did it before I tried to get all the lizards/fruit trophies, I forgot you got items to help with that.
A hint for the people who keep losing grip during the excessive flailing; it might just be me, but I thought that if I got away from the weak spot, they calmed down a lot faster. It became quicker to stab once or twice, back off, then go back to it after they calmed down.
That said, I think some of the issue is faster frame rate/responsiveness, so it feels different.
Loving my playthroughs. So refreshing.
Steam ID: Obos Vent: Obos
That said, I completely understand why I quit on Colossus 15 when I first played this back in the day. Seriously, fuck that guy.
Time to see how Ico holds up. I seem to remember it being only like 4-6 hours long, so it should go quick.
It dived into the sand, I chased after it, then it burst up and took me and my horse with it.
Okay, Agro fell off almost immediately after we got up there (although the falling over animation kept him on the colossus until we reached cruising altitude), but it's still the fastest kill I've ever gotten against that thing.
Also, props to Agro for being the toughest horse in existence.
I was wondering about that! Thought I'd been sent a re-sealed copy, since it arrived a week late.
I think the entire thing's pretty bloody iffy anyway - can you imagine paying £25 for a Blu-Ray on the week of release, and the disc just being the bare-bones film with a little leaflet explaining you could download the extras via the studio's exclusive service? I know it's to punish second-hand buyers, but it particularly sticks in the craw when the games themselves must occupy a fraction of the disc space.
Loved the reversible case though - wish more of the 'HD Classics' did this.
Reversible case? -dashes off-
oh shit, that's great!
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Hey, it's available now. Go get yours
I don't really have any Blu-ray experience, but I was under the impression that they DO do this. Is that not what BD-Live was created for?
So you don't have an extra selection in the Game Menu beneath the game launcher with videos and themes? That sucks, because the dynamic themes are pretty.
NintendoID: Nailbunny 3DS: 3909-8796-4685
Beautiful. I wonder if there's a bigger version out there...
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
END-OF-THE-WORLD!
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Thank you Ico
Why does wander and the kid of ICO take forever to get up when knocked down. It's annoying, especially when I'm racing to save the girl from being taken by the shadow guys. I know they're trying to be realistic but it's a little grating. That's my one gripe about these games. Otherwise they're gorgeous in HD and I'm having a lot of fun.
PSN: astronautcowboy 3DS: 5343-8146-1833
I have Sega, Nintendo and Xbox games and systems for sale. Please help me buy diapers.
No, you're not missing anything, it just sucks. I got it after about 6,000 tries -- for me the most challenging thing was not pushing buttons too fast: Jump, climb, turn, jump, all as distinct actions. Personally, I think that's one thing that was better in the original NA release . . .
Edit: FFFFFFFF- Got two seals down and had 45 seconds to do the third but was running out of grip and fell off when hurrying back to a spot I could rest. This after at least 30 attempts. So pissed. And then the next retry, he just keeps f'n walking towards me. Doesn't even attempt to swing his sword. Can't wait to kill this dick.
Edit #2: YEEEESSSSSSSS! 4 or 5 attempts later (all of which were no longer than 30 seconds) I got it with only 4 seconds left. Hardest one down now, with only 4 to go (6, 8, 12 and 15). I'm on track for platinuming SotC, Uncharted 3 and Batman: Arkham City before AssRev arrives (which'll be the 22nd for me, as I'm importing from the UK).
I think you're thinking of the wheel, not the bouncy block. I got the block fairly easily, just hit jump as it's going upwards I believe.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Anybody know a good article that explains the connection between ico and sotc? I want to learn more about the backstory.
Next I'm gonna try to do a speed run for the trophies.
Anyway last guardian can't get here soon enough.
Yes, you're right -- I was thinking of the wheel, not the block. The block was also irritating (although less so), mostly because I remembered that room from playing the US game on the PS2 and couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do in the new version until I found it on YouTube.
Yes, it made me curse and scream and throw my controller. But I always picked it back up. Because, damn is this shit epic. And I'm one of the few people I know of who went back through and did all the time trials for the sweet loot... on hard. Yeah.
Among my favorite moments was just throwing caution completely to the wind (quite literally) and jumping to places I shouldn't have been able to during the flying (water) colossus. Like, using the physics to kind of catapult myself farther forward than I should have been able to go. There are all kinds of ways to do that that aren't immediately apparent in certain fights. Yes, you do still have to grab hold every now and then, but it's entirely possible to be creative about how to get from point A to point B in some cases using the motion of the colossi themselves.
And yes, jump stab fo' life. You have to get creative about fitting that in. As for the lizards and the fruit, I felt that those elements were essential to provide contrast to the epic-epicness of the boss fights. And they're more fun than they have a right to be.
Exploration is its own reward in this game--it's just so pretty for a PS2 title. This is also a good example of how letting players work things out on their own is often a better design choice. For example, I remember figuring out how to stand and jump from the horse on my own, then having that "aha!" moment of genius where I decided I'd try to snag that eagle who's always swooping in. Of course, I didn't expect it to work. Imagine my surprise when I not only grabbed that fucker, but he took me over a tall cliff's edge and soaring for what seemed like minutes. Goddamn. So good.
Well, yeah, it is actually. You're focusing too much on the nitty gritty--look at the big picture. You're fighting a giant fucking thing comprised of earth and flesh the size of a small (or not so small) sky-scraper with a teeny-tiny sword. What approach do you think would yield better results? Just whacking at his ankles, maybe? Come on. More to the point, if they gave you all the time in the world, you'd start to wonder why the game is making it so easy for you. What are the colossi supposed to do? Stand patiently by while you shiv them over and over? That shit looks like it hurts, after all. I can see why they'd want to shake you the hell off.
And finally, here's the real reason for that design element: it makes things tense. Particularly if you're emotionally invested in the outcome like I was. Personally, every time I got up to the top where I could do some damage, my heart would be pounding out of my chest and I'd be thinking to myself that this is the moment--this is what you worked for! Now make it count! Aim True!! "BRRRRAAAAAARRRRGHHH!!!!!!!!" (that's a Howard Dean-ish battlecry).
Now, I don't know about you, but the catharsis of plunging your weapon into it's fleshy bits, after being tossed about like a rag-doll and clinging on for dear life, is... well, there's been nothing else like it in any other game I've ever played. Makes any frustration encountered along the way totally worth it.
Your mistake may be that you're still thinking of it like a game while you're playing. You need to quit that. Take the frustration and channel it
Seriously, you wrote about 4 paras arguing over something I never claimed.
Earlier in the thread people recommended doing the jumping lunge attack or something, but I never learned the key combo for that.
What a great game.
3DS FC: 5343-7720-0490
Happy to hear that it is still as stellar in HD though.
Still under contract to finish TLG, but goddamn it I hope it's not in developement hell.