AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
edited December 2006
Regarding page 2: Please note that I love SotC.. and I loved riding around.. but I can't see myself playing it again, because as much as I love the world, it feels like there is more story to be told there, and I don't see it happening.
You'll note I said take the world of SotC and populate it, not the game itself.
.... Basically, I want a prequel set in this game's world before it became forbidden.
How does one collect the lizards? Just touch them, or do you re-use the "pick- up" function that I've used a grand total of once in the entire game?
slash them with the sword or shoot them with the bow, then press circle by their bodies.
[spoiler:96f96dfdb7] I'm onto the 13th colossus; unlucky for me. every fucking time I try to leap onto those flippers trainling in the sand, I miss. I had sympathy for the thing before, wishing I didn't have to kill something so awesome. now, I don't.
help?[/spoiler:96f96dfdb7]
Si Senor on
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
How does one collect the lizards? Just touch them, or do you re-use the "pick- up" function that I've used a grand total of once in the entire game?
slash them with the sword or shoot them with the bow, then press circle by their bodies.
[spoiler:f741a5b9cb] I'm onto the 13th colossus; unlucky for me. every fucking time I try to leap onto those flippers trainling in the sand, I miss. I had sympathy for the thing before, wishing I didn't have to kill something so awesome. now, I don't.
help?[/spoiler:f741a5b9cb]
[spoiler:f741a5b9cb] Ride parallel to him, then steer your horse towards the leading edge of the flipper. Momentum should do the rest -- I had no troubles making this jump.[/spoiler:f741a5b9cb]
Vargas PrimeKing of NothingJust a ShowRegistered Userregular
edited December 2006
I love this game. But I do wish the journeys between each colossus were a bit more eventful.
I fully appreciate the loneliness of the setting and the beauty of the environment, I just wish that actually GETTING to the colossi was a bit more involved. Like more platforming, or puzzle-solving.
The thing I loved most about Ico was that it felt like the game never really stopped. Every room had some kind of method to get through, whether it was finding a way to get yourself over/under/around obstacles and ruins, or solving a puzzle to open the way out. SotC feels like it needed a little more of this type of design to fill in the gaps between the bosses.
That being said, I think for what SotC is, it's one of the coolest and most impressive games I've played, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Regarding page 2: Please note that I love SotC.. and I loved riding around.. but I can't see myself playing it again, because as much as I love the world, it feels like there is more story to be told there, and I don't see it happening.
You'll note I said take the world of SotC and populate it, not the game itself.
.... Basically, I want a prequel set in this game's world before it became forbidden.
I would say GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR SHUT UP SHUT UP, but... I must admit that even though I think in practice it'd probably be a bad idea I do speculate quite a bit about the world Fumito Ueda and company created. It's partly why I think the writing's so amazing, and why the storytelling's miles above the rest of the medium... that they can convey and/or suggest so much with so little.
[spoiler:394870a8be]I mean, ICO's the only thing I ever wrote fanfiction for. No, seriously. I wish I'd kept it - there were some nice ideas in there and if I'd taken out or altered any reference to the game...[/spoiler:394870a8be]
:oops:
Eight Rooks on
<AtlusParker> Sorry I'm playing Pokemon and vomiting at the same time so I'm not following the conversation in a linear fashion.
I think people are being too hard on th e exploration parts. A lot of the time it wasn't obvious where the colossus was, even with the sword light pointing the direction. You only had a vague direction of where to go, and sometimes their locations were in surprising places (like inside a gorge). And sometimes the path to the colossus was winding and you got lost. In other words: it wasn't at all boring and overly straightforward. You had to use your noggin and put on your explorer's cap.
And many exploration segments did have platforming parts. Remember jumping up to where #3 was? Though I was happy that most of the platforming was limited to the colossus battles. I liked the unadulterated sense of exploration, and I liked not having to worry about searching every nook and cranny for fairies or bugs or ruppees. You wouldn't do that in real life if you were exploring a magical uninhabited land.
I think people are being too hard on th e exploration parts. A lot of the time it wasn't obvious where the colossus was, even with the sword light pointing the direction. You only had a vague direction of where to go, and sometimes their locations were in surprising places (like inside a gorge). And sometimes the path to the colossus was winding and you got lost. In other words: it wasn't at all boring and overly straightforward. You had to use your noggin and put on your explorer's cap.
And many exploration segments did have platforming parts. Remember jumping up to where #3 was? Though I was happy that most of the platforming was limited to the colossus battles. I liked the unadulterated sense of exploration, and I liked not having to worry about searching every nook and cranny for fairies or bugs or ruppees. You wouldn't do that in real life if you were exploring a magical uninhabited land.
I'd lime your whole post, but that'd be excessive. I think you very well summed up why I enjoyed the exploration. It felt, to me, like when I go driving in unfamiliar places, or wandering in the woods when I was a kid. There was no reward, really, for exploring, except that it was enjoyable to see a new place. I also loved the way the game made (to me, at least) everything feel very intuititive. I never really got very lost or confused, climbing things and riding Agro always felt just right, combat felt perfect, and there were, aside from the lizard/fruit things, no artificial gameplay elements. It was nice to start with every ability you'll ever have, and simply be required to do more with those abilities over time, rather than just having to find a new item or ability after each area, and use that.
I never got very far with this game. I think it's because I liked fighting the collosi too much. What I mean is I was looking forward to the next fight so much that the exploration, which is something I generally love in games, became incredibly frustrating as I ran into yet another mountain range squarely between myself and the next colossus. Instead of taking the time to enjoy the scenery I was almost rabid to shove my sword into the head of the next colossus. I justified this bloodlust by imagining that whatever had caused the eradication of the people who presumably use to live in ths world could be blamed on these giant furry stone creatures.
In any case I think I need to give it another shot and not rush myself so much this time. I actually kind of wish I hadn't spent all of my Christmas cash on a DVD burner now, especially since I haven't been able find a decent free program to produce a DVD with (the plan was to make a gift for someone who moved away using video clips >_<)
I actually needed the breathing room between the Colossus battles. Not just because they were intense: I started to feel bad about killing them. All that exploring gave you time to think about just what it was you're doing in the game.
I love this game so much. It's completely unique. Any NPCs or sidequests would make it just a bit more like every other RPG out there. There's enough bafmodad collection around thank you very much.
Was anyone else disappointed by the final colossus? I thought every single other one was totally amazing but when I got to the last one, knowing it would be the last one, my overwhelming feeling was "that's it?". I mean
[spoiler:6aeaa587e0]He can't even move! When he dies he doesn't fall! He only has one weak spot! I was hoping for something properly evil and vicious not a guy in a skirt, to be totally honest.[/spoiler:6aeaa587e0]
That aside, it was still one of those standing up and gesturing wildly at the screen shouting "EAT IT YOU GRANITE BASTARD!" moments when I killed him. That's one of my favourite things, the sense of achievement mixed with guilt when you take down a colossus.
Was anyone else disappointed by the final colossus? I thought every single other one was totally amazing but when I got to the last one, knowing it would be the last one, my overwhelming feeling was "that's it?". I mean
[spoiler:cd55068c14]He can't even move! When he dies he doesn't fall! He only has one weak spot! I was hoping for something properly evil and vicious not a guy in a skirt, to be totally honest.[/spoiler:cd55068c14]
[spoiler:cd55068c14]I think they were trying to go for something really, really huge but were limited by the technical aspects of the console. They were already pushing the PS2's limit as it was, I think having a model that size actually walk around and stomp on you probably would have brought the PS2 to its knees. So rather than sacrifice the size they made most of the boss a static model. That's just my hypothesis, anyway.[/spoiler:cd55068c14]
Feral on
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
Was anyone else disappointed by the final colossus? I thought every single other one was totally amazing but when I got to the last one, knowing it would be the last one, my overwhelming feeling was "that's it?". I mean
[spoiler:49130dbc2e]He can't even move! When he dies he doesn't fall! He only has one weak spot! I was hoping for something properly evil and vicious not a guy in a skirt, to be totally honest.[/spoiler:49130dbc2e]
[spoiler:49130dbc2e]I think they were trying to go for something really, really huge but were limited by the technical aspects of the console. They were already pushing the PS2's limit as it was, I think having a model that size actually walk around and stomp on you probably would have brought the PS2 to its knees. So rather than sacrifice the size they made most of the boss a static model. That's just my hypothesis, anyway.[/spoiler:49130dbc2e]
That's exactly what I was thinking.
[spoiler:49130dbc2e]And let's be honest: the second-to-last colossus was pretty fucking huge.[/spoiler:49130dbc2e]
Was anyone else disappointed by the final colossus? I thought every single other one was totally amazing but when I got to the last one, knowing it would be the last one, my overwhelming feeling was "that's it?". I mean
[spoiler:9b5f4e4954]He can't even move! When he dies he doesn't fall! He only has one weak spot! I was hoping for something properly evil and vicious not a guy in a skirt, to be totally honest.[/spoiler:9b5f4e4954]
[spoiler:9b5f4e4954]I think they were trying to go for something really, really huge but were limited by the technical aspects of the console. They were already pushing the PS2's limit as it was, I think having a model that size actually walk around and stomp on you probably would have brought the PS2 to its knees. So rather than sacrifice the size they made most of the boss a static model. That's just my hypothesis, anyway.[/spoiler:9b5f4e4954]
That's exactly what I was thinking.
[spoiler:9b5f4e4954]And let's be honest: the second-to-last colossus was pretty fucking huge.[/spoiler:9b5f4e4954]
[spoiler:9b5f4e4954]I think that I managed to get exactly the emotional impact the game was hoping for. I was really frustrated and angry while I was dodging the shots, which carried over while I was actually climbing it. However, when I reached the head, I began to realize just how helpless the colossus actually is, and ended up feeling sorry for it. Although it is insanely powerful, it is completely trapped, helpless to do anything other than shoot. Its rage is both fully justified and completely pointless, since the only possible resolution to its trap is its death.
Having the colossus actually able to stomp around would kind of ruin that impact.[/spoiler:9b5f4e4954]
If an action figure appeared with a sharp blade in his hand and he jumped all over your body grabbing your hair and clothes and stuff, do you think you could kill him before he killed you?
That's pretty much what I was thinkin about throughout all of SoTC.
I loved this game to death.
I started figuring out what was going on when [spoiler:177984a0fa]the Wanderer starts deteoriating after killing a few Colossi. The ending/the whole possession shebang was just brutal. By the way, is it possible to outrun the swirling-vortex-of-doom and reach the girl in the end? Or stomp the heroes trying to imprison you?[/spoiler:177984a0fa]
I love this game so much. It's completely unique. Any NPCs or sidequests would make it just a bit more like every other RPG out there. There's enough bafmodad collection around thank you very much.
Was anyone else disappointed by the final colossus? I thought every single other one was totally amazing but when I got to the last one, knowing it would be the last one, my overwhelming feeling was "that's it?". I mean
[spoiler:6abac5e95e]He can't even move! When he dies he doesn't fall! He only has one weak spot! I was hoping for something properly evil and vicious not a guy in a skirt, to be totally honest.[/spoiler:6abac5e95e]
[spoiler:6abac5e95e]I think those things helped to set the mood for the ending. He was big and bad when he was distant, but once you got on him, he was nearly helpless. Then from that point on, it's a matter of inflicting pain on him. Stab him in the back and you can get on his arm. Stab his hand, and he'll level it out for you to stand. Shoot his shoulder and he'll clutch it, letting you get up to his head. Then his only remaining defense is to flail frantically. It's brutal, really. And that fact that he doesn't fall just makes his death that much more grotesque, at least for me.[/spoiler:6abac5e95e]
Elendil on
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Clint EastwoodMy baby's in there someplaceShe crawled right inRegistered Userregular
I love this game so much. It's completely unique. Any NPCs or sidequests would make it just a bit more like every other RPG out there. There's enough bafmodad collection around thank you very much.
Was anyone else disappointed by the final colossus? I thought every single other one was totally amazing but when I got to the last one, knowing it would be the last one, my overwhelming feeling was "that's it?". I mean
[spoiler:a9c5ce777d]He can't even move! When he dies he doesn't fall! He only has one weak spot! I was hoping for something properly evil and vicious not a guy in a skirt, to be totally honest.[/spoiler:a9c5ce777d]
[spoiler:a9c5ce777d]I think those things helped to set the mood for the ending. He was big and bad when he was distant, but once you got on him, he was nearly helpless. Then from that point on, it's a matter of inflicting pain on him. Stab him in the back and you can get on his arm. Stab his hand, and he'll level it out for you to stand. Shoot his shoulder and he'll clutch it, letting you get up to his head. Then his only remaining defense is to flail frantically. It's brutal, really. And that fact that he doesn't fall just makes his death that much more grotesque, at least for me.[/spoiler:a9c5ce777d]
[spoiler:a9c5ce777d]Frankly I thought that the last colossus had the coolest death sequence. The fact that his skirt or whatever shattered or whatever was kickass.
On another note, I was fucking pumped to kick his ass after Agro fell into the river.[/spoiler:a9c5ce777d]
The most interesting part of Shadow for me is the way that it actively pit me against my character. Sure games like Grand Theft Auto have made you play the anti-hero before, but it was justified to an extent by the rules of its own world and made sense in its own way. Killing the Colossi though, I actively hated my character. I had to force myself to dissociate myself from my actions, in that I wanted to let the Colossi live but I knew my character wouldn't, so despite hating my actions I killed them all anyway. It really made me despise Wander for the actions he forced me to take. And yet despite all that, I still can't deny the elation at figuring out the trick and bring one of them down. The surge of excitement as you land that final blow always made the death video afterwards all the more sobering, as you realize the cost of you getting your brief high. Really an unusual dichotomy between player and avatar.
[spoiler:2546dfad61]On another note, I was fucking pumped to kick his ass after Agro fell into the river.[/spoiler:2546dfad61]
I had a very different feeling going into the last colossus.
[spoiler:2546dfad61]Agro didn't fall because of the actions of the "enemy," as seen in so many other games. He fell because of the Wanderer's dangerous ambition, perhaps even obsession. Agro's fall is, essentially, the fault of the player character. I didn't go into the last colossus thinking I was going to avenge Agro, or even give purpose to his sacrifice, of sorts. I went in thinking that this destructive journey had to end there, one way or another. Turning back was pointless, as there was nothing to turn back to, but continuing on certainly did not hold the promise of happiness it once did.
This feeling that I had already lost so much didn't inspire me to go "win it back," but rather reflect on why I/the character did all this and what it cost me/him. It was a feeling I haven't felt in other games. I think incorporating emotions other than a sense of triumph when the player succeeds in the goals of a game is a great concept.[/spoiler:2546dfad61]
After about a year of not playing the game, I have started a new file on Hard mode, just so I could forget enough of it to enjoy a bit of discovery again.
No game makes me want to be able to erase parts of my memory as much as SotC.
Hard mode is really frustrating sometimes, but also extremely satisfying.
Has anyone tried visiting the colossus battle sites before the proper time? So far I've never seen anything, but you have to wonder, where would they go? Especially the third one.
I went to the site for the fifteenth, and stood at the cliffs and just panned the camera around, and my god. Beautiful. Just beautiful.
[spoiler:3e2242a82e]The main character believes what he is doing is good, but in fact it's quite the opposite. I've heard alot of, "I feel really bad for that thing..." And you should, because you're evil, you just don't really know that.[/spoiler:3e2242a82e]
[spoiler:87b1b3574e]The main character believes what he is doing is good, but in fact it's quite the opposite. I've heard alot of, "I feel really bad for that thing..." And you should, because you're evil, you just don't really know that.[/spoiler:87b1b3574e]
Finishing it is on my to-do list.
[spoiler:87b1b3574e]But is he evil? You have to ask yourself, is Dormin evil? Dormin sticks to its/their word, and revives Mono at the end, and it told Wander that there would be a price to pay for granting his request.
And even if Dormin is evil, Wander would know this perfectly well - he just thinks it's worth using the forbidden spell to get his wish. I think it's pretty clear that he doesn't know Dormin will break out, but I don't think he would care, anyways. Besides, it all works out.[/spoiler:87b1b3574e]
I really loved the way that you could skip the intro video to the colossus, but once you killed it you HAD to sit and watch it fall and crumble. Also took me a while to notice the beams of light from the ground were from the fallen colossi.
Oh and the turtle bastard in the desert can fuck right off. That was a beast to beat in hard mode.
carbon13 on
First rule of Teacher Club: You don't touch the kids.
Second rule of Teacher Club: You DO NOT touch the kids.
My least favorite colossi were by far the ninth and the eleventh. The ninth was just an incredibly annoying, uninteresting fight, and the fucking thing wasn't even colossal. The eleventh wasn't really that bad, I guess, but [spoiler:825ea98cc4]positioning it over a geyser[/spoiler:825ea98cc4] was way harder than it should have been, and the music was reused from the second colossus.
The ones that you get the silver tails from are in fact climbing on the save towers. Cool thing is, for those who don't know...if you just shoot the tail with an arrow, the lizard sticks to the ground for a few second trying to pull away and then its tail breaks off. It climbs away sans tail, and you can walk over an get it. When you come back to that same lizard later...its tail will have grown back....rinse and repeat. I love that since in real life...lizards actually do that. (grow their tails back) :^:
(I recommend this ONLY if you want to grow your grip meter without exploring and finding the other lizards...which really steals away from the game in my opinion, but just thought I'd bring it up anyhow for those who don't want to ride around forever finding grip meter lizards...even though you should since the land is so fantastic to explore graphically)
The eleventh wasn't really that bad, I guess, but [spoiler:333cfa71cd]positioning it over a geyser[/spoiler:333cfa71cd] was way harder than it should have been, and the music was reused from the second colossus.
That was my least favorite colossus, by far. The only two colossi I remember dying on in Hard mode were this one and the [spoiler:333cfa71cd]lizard-who-climbs-on-the-walls. Is that a spoiler? Eh, whatever.[/spoiler:333cfa71cd]
The weird part about that one is that on normal mode, I can kill him in about a minute with no problems whatsoever.
[realspoiler:09e72ec3cb]
What's up with the baby?
[/realspoiler:09e72ec3cb]
[realspoiler:09e72ec3cb]
The generally accepted wisdom is that it's Wander reincarnated - as a kind of redemption for what he did - and that somehow the horned kids in ICO are his descendants. Fumito Ueda's refused to be specifically drawn on connections between the two games (he's stated in interviews he doesn't really care that much about the stories in his games) but AFAIK he has admitted they are supposed to be linked.
[/realspoiler:09e72ec3cb]
Eight Rooks on
<AtlusParker> Sorry I'm playing Pokemon and vomiting at the same time so I'm not following the conversation in a linear fashion.
[realspoiler:b1719a0e0c]
What's up with the baby?
[/realspoiler:b1719a0e0c]
[realspoiler:b1719a0e0c]
The generally accepted wisdom is that it's Wander reincarnated - as a kind of redemption for what he did - and that somehow the horned kids in ICO are his descendants. Fumito Ueda's refused to be specifically drawn on connections between the two games (he's stated in interviews he doesn't really care that much about the stories in his games) but AFAIK he has admitted they are supposed to be linked.
[/realspoiler:b1719a0e0c]
Spoilers for both SOTC and Ico:
[realspoiler:b1719a0e0c]Ueda has gone on official record stating the SOTC is the prequel to Ico, and that Wander in horned baby form becomes the progenitor of the line of horned boys.
Based on that, it looks like a portion of Dormin's life/death power resides in them, and the Queen in Ico wants to drain it out of them so she can live forever.[/realspoiler:b1719a0e0c]
[realspoiler:0e5f9df560]
What's up with the baby?
[/realspoiler:0e5f9df560]
[realspoiler:0e5f9df560]
The generally accepted wisdom is that it's Wander reincarnated - as a kind of redemption for what he did - and that somehow the horned kids in ICO are his descendants. Fumito Ueda's refused to be specifically drawn on connections between the two games (he's stated in interviews he doesn't really care that much about the stories in his games) but AFAIK he has admitted they are supposed to be linked.
[/realspoiler:0e5f9df560]
Spoilers for both SOTC and Ico:
[realspoiler:0e5f9df560]Ueda has gone on official record stating the SOTC is the prequel to Ico, and that Wander in horned baby form becomes the progenitor of the line of horned boys.
Based on that, it looks like a portion of Dormin's life/death power resides in them, and the Queen in Ico wants to drain it out of them so she can live forever.[/realspoiler:0e5f9df560]
[realspoiler:0e5f9df560]The other suggested part of this is that the Queen is Mono, which adds a nice bitter twist.[/realspoiler:0e5f9df560]
[realspoiler:29f5b09308]
What's up with the baby?
[/realspoiler:29f5b09308]
[realspoiler:29f5b09308]
The generally accepted wisdom is that it's Wander reincarnated - as a kind of redemption for what he did - and that somehow the horned kids in ICO are his descendants. Fumito Ueda's refused to be specifically drawn on connections between the two games (he's stated in interviews he doesn't really care that much about the stories in his games) but AFAIK he has admitted they are supposed to be linked.
[/realspoiler:29f5b09308]
Spoilers for both SOTC and Ico:
[realspoiler:29f5b09308]Ueda has gone on official record stating the SOTC is the prequel to Ico, and that Wander in horned baby form becomes the progenitor of the line of horned boys.
Based on that, it looks like a portion of Dormin's life/death power resides in them, and the Queen in Ico wants to drain it out of them so she can live forever.[/realspoiler:29f5b09308]
[realspoiler:29f5b09308]The other suggested part of this is that the Queen is Mono, which adds a nice bitter twist.[/realspoiler:29f5b09308]
I don't know if that's really likely. They don't look very similar, as far as I remember.
I just bought this again last night. I had rented it and beat it, but forgot just how bad the camera is. I remembered it sucks, but playing it again and christ, the camera sucks so much. It is the game's only fault though.
I just bought this again last night. I had rented it and beat it, but forgot just how bad the camera is. I remembered it sucks, but playing it again and christ, the camera sucks so much. It is the game's only fault though.
I feel like the camera is the byproduct of a general industry inexperience with juggling enemies that large.
[realspoiler:25d6abac18]Has anyone ever thought how much it sucks to be the mothers of those kids? I mean, birthing a baby that's already about as big as that body part can take, then adding horns? Painful as shit.[/realspoiler:25d6abac18]
[spoiler:2add9d7750]If I'm not mistaken, those body parts start out very small and soft, and don't get hard and pointy until later in life.[/spoiler:2add9d7750]
mspencer on
MEMBER OF THE PARANOIA GM GUILD
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Posts
You'll note I said take the world of SotC and populate it, not the game itself.
.... Basically, I want a prequel set in this game's world before it became forbidden.
slash them with the sword or shoot them with the bow, then press circle by their bodies.
[spoiler:96f96dfdb7] I'm onto the 13th colossus; unlucky for me. every fucking time I try to leap onto those flippers trainling in the sand, I miss. I had sympathy for the thing before, wishing I didn't have to kill something so awesome. now, I don't.
help?[/spoiler:96f96dfdb7]
[spoiler:f741a5b9cb] Ride parallel to him, then steer your horse towards the leading edge of the flipper. Momentum should do the rest -- I had no troubles making this jump.[/spoiler:f741a5b9cb]
I fully appreciate the loneliness of the setting and the beauty of the environment, I just wish that actually GETTING to the colossi was a bit more involved. Like more platforming, or puzzle-solving.
The thing I loved most about Ico was that it felt like the game never really stopped. Every room had some kind of method to get through, whether it was finding a way to get yourself over/under/around obstacles and ruins, or solving a puzzle to open the way out. SotC feels like it needed a little more of this type of design to fill in the gaps between the bosses.
That being said, I think for what SotC is, it's one of the coolest and most impressive games I've played, and I would recommend it to anyone.
sketchyblargh / Steam! / Tumblr Prime
I would say GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR SHUT UP SHUT UP, but... I must admit that even though I think in practice it'd probably be a bad idea I do speculate quite a bit about the world Fumito Ueda and company created. It's partly why I think the writing's so amazing, and why the storytelling's miles above the rest of the medium... that they can convey and/or suggest so much with so little.
[spoiler:394870a8be]I mean, ICO's the only thing I ever wrote fanfiction for. No, seriously. I wish I'd kept it - there were some nice ideas in there and if I'd taken out or altered any reference to the game...[/spoiler:394870a8be]
:oops:
Read my book. (It has a robot in it.)
And many exploration segments did have platforming parts. Remember jumping up to where #3 was? Though I was happy that most of the platforming was limited to the colossus battles. I liked the unadulterated sense of exploration, and I liked not having to worry about searching every nook and cranny for fairies or bugs or ruppees. You wouldn't do that in real life if you were exploring a magical uninhabited land.
I'd lime your whole post, but that'd be excessive. I think you very well summed up why I enjoyed the exploration. It felt, to me, like when I go driving in unfamiliar places, or wandering in the woods when I was a kid. There was no reward, really, for exploring, except that it was enjoyable to see a new place. I also loved the way the game made (to me, at least) everything feel very intuititive. I never really got very lost or confused, climbing things and riding Agro always felt just right, combat felt perfect, and there were, aside from the lizard/fruit things, no artificial gameplay elements. It was nice to start with every ability you'll ever have, and simply be required to do more with those abilities over time, rather than just having to find a new item or ability after each area, and use that.
In any case I think I need to give it another shot and not rush myself so much this time. I actually kind of wish I hadn't spent all of my Christmas cash on a DVD burner now, especially since I haven't been able find a decent free program to produce a DVD with (the plan was to make a gift for someone who moved away using video clips >_<)
Was anyone else disappointed by the final colossus? I thought every single other one was totally amazing but when I got to the last one, knowing it would be the last one, my overwhelming feeling was "that's it?". I mean
[spoiler:6aeaa587e0]He can't even move! When he dies he doesn't fall! He only has one weak spot! I was hoping for something properly evil and vicious not a guy in a skirt, to be totally honest.[/spoiler:6aeaa587e0]
That aside, it was still one of those standing up and gesturing wildly at the screen shouting "EAT IT YOU GRANITE BASTARD!" moments when I killed him. That's one of my favourite things, the sense of achievement mixed with guilt when you take down a colossus.
[spoiler:cd55068c14]I think they were trying to go for something really, really huge but were limited by the technical aspects of the console. They were already pushing the PS2's limit as it was, I think having a model that size actually walk around and stomp on you probably would have brought the PS2 to its knees. So rather than sacrifice the size they made most of the boss a static model. That's just my hypothesis, anyway.[/spoiler:cd55068c14]
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
[spoiler:49130dbc2e]And let's be honest: the second-to-last colossus was pretty fucking huge.[/spoiler:49130dbc2e]
[spoiler:9b5f4e4954]I think that I managed to get exactly the emotional impact the game was hoping for. I was really frustrated and angry while I was dodging the shots, which carried over while I was actually climbing it. However, when I reached the head, I began to realize just how helpless the colossus actually is, and ended up feeling sorry for it. Although it is insanely powerful, it is completely trapped, helpless to do anything other than shoot. Its rage is both fully justified and completely pointless, since the only possible resolution to its trap is its death.
Having the colossus actually able to stomp around would kind of ruin that impact.[/spoiler:9b5f4e4954]
Only to be killed, by a little man.
If an action figure appeared with a sharp blade in his hand and he jumped all over your body grabbing your hair and clothes and stuff, do you think you could kill him before he killed you?
That's pretty much what I was thinkin about throughout all of SoTC.
Also, I never heard of lizards or towers before I read threads after the game. :?
On another note, I was fucking pumped to kick his ass after Agro fell into the river.[/spoiler:a9c5ce777d]
I had a very different feeling going into the last colossus.
[spoiler:2546dfad61]Agro didn't fall because of the actions of the "enemy," as seen in so many other games. He fell because of the Wanderer's dangerous ambition, perhaps even obsession. Agro's fall is, essentially, the fault of the player character. I didn't go into the last colossus thinking I was going to avenge Agro, or even give purpose to his sacrifice, of sorts. I went in thinking that this destructive journey had to end there, one way or another. Turning back was pointless, as there was nothing to turn back to, but continuing on certainly did not hold the promise of happiness it once did.
This feeling that I had already lost so much didn't inspire me to go "win it back," but rather reflect on why I/the character did all this and what it cost me/him. It was a feeling I haven't felt in other games. I think incorporating emotions other than a sense of triumph when the player succeeds in the goals of a game is a great concept.[/spoiler:2546dfad61]
No game makes me want to be able to erase parts of my memory as much as SotC.
Hard mode is really frustrating sometimes, but also extremely satisfying.
Has anyone tried visiting the colossus battle sites before the proper time? So far I've never seen anything, but you have to wonder, where would they go? Especially the third one.
I went to the site for the fifteenth, and stood at the cliffs and just panned the camera around, and my god. Beautiful. Just beautiful.
[spoiler:3e2242a82e]The main character believes what he is doing is good, but in fact it's quite the opposite. I've heard alot of, "I feel really bad for that thing..." And you should, because you're evil, you just don't really know that.[/spoiler:3e2242a82e]
Finishing it is on my to-do list.
[spoiler:87b1b3574e]But is he evil? You have to ask yourself, is Dormin evil? Dormin sticks to its/their word, and revives Mono at the end, and it told Wander that there would be a price to pay for granting his request.
And even if Dormin is evil, Wander would know this perfectly well - he just thinks it's worth using the forbidden spell to get his wish. I think it's pretty clear that he doesn't know Dormin will break out, but I don't think he would care, anyways. Besides, it all works out.[/spoiler:87b1b3574e]
Oh and the turtle bastard in the desert can fuck right off. That was a beast to beat in hard mode.
Second rule of Teacher Club: You DO NOT touch the kids.
The ones that you get the silver tails from are in fact climbing on the save towers. Cool thing is, for those who don't know...if you just shoot the tail with an arrow, the lizard sticks to the ground for a few second trying to pull away and then its tail breaks off. It climbs away sans tail, and you can walk over an get it. When you come back to that same lizard later...its tail will have grown back....rinse and repeat. I love that since in real life...lizards actually do that. (grow their tails back) :^:
(I recommend this ONLY if you want to grow your grip meter without exploring and finding the other lizards...which really steals away from the game in my opinion, but just thought I'd bring it up anyhow for those who don't want to ride around forever finding grip meter lizards...even though you should since the land is so fantastic to explore graphically)
That was my least favorite colossus, by far. The only two colossi I remember dying on in Hard mode were this one and the [spoiler:333cfa71cd]lizard-who-climbs-on-the-walls. Is that a spoiler? Eh, whatever.[/spoiler:333cfa71cd]
The weird part about that one is that on normal mode, I can kill him in about a minute with no problems whatsoever.
Fucking. Wow.
I'm all about time attack mode now.
So here's my question concerning the ending:
[realspoiler:3a18945e01]
What's up with the baby?
[/realspoiler:3a18945e01]
Speculation really. Nobody really knows.
[realspoiler:09e72ec3cb]
The generally accepted wisdom is that it's Wander reincarnated - as a kind of redemption for what he did - and that somehow the horned kids in ICO are his descendants. Fumito Ueda's refused to be specifically drawn on connections between the two games (he's stated in interviews he doesn't really care that much about the stories in his games) but AFAIK he has admitted they are supposed to be linked.
[/realspoiler:09e72ec3cb]
Read my book. (It has a robot in it.)
Spoilers for both SOTC and Ico:
[realspoiler:b1719a0e0c]Ueda has gone on official record stating the SOTC is the prequel to Ico, and that Wander in horned baby form becomes the progenitor of the line of horned boys.
Based on that, it looks like a portion of Dormin's life/death power resides in them, and the Queen in Ico wants to drain it out of them so she can live forever.[/realspoiler:b1719a0e0c]
[realspoiler:0e5f9df560]The other suggested part of this is that the Queen is Mono, which adds a nice bitter twist.[/realspoiler:0e5f9df560]
(looks like cdjapan still has it.)
I don't know if that's really likely. They don't look very similar, as far as I remember.
I feel like the camera is the byproduct of a general industry inexperience with juggling enemies that large.
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