ICO / Shadow of the Colossus Discussion *Spoilers*

[Runnen]

I highly suggest you read no further if you have not finished ICO or Shadow of the Colossus yet. You've been warned.






So I played both games and finished both, and since both have very open endings, I went to a few forums to try and see what most people thought had really happened at the end of either game. Now, I'm interested in the opinions of the people here who have, in my opinion, a better knowledge and understanding of video games and movies in general.


At the end of ICO, Ico battles the Queen and defeats her with the Shadow Blade after she managed to break both of his horns. Upon the Queen's death, the castle begins to collapse and fall apart and Ico is knocked unconscious. Worda, who has been turned to shadow by the Queen, picks up the unconscious Ico and brings him to a small boat, then pushes him into the water to drift away while the whole castle collapses. Then much later, we see both Ico and Worda (back to her natural form) lying unconscious on a beach of blindind white sand with endless shores and luxuriant forests.. and it ends there.

So the question for ICO is : do you think Worda somehow returned to her previous form, found a way to reach Ico's boat and they ended up on some peaceful island far away from the cursed castle, or do you think the white endless beach is an analogy of Heaven and both died in the collapsing of the island?


Now for Shadow of the Colossus.. at the end, the Wanderer is infected by the sixteen shards of Dormin, the ancient demon that had been trapped into the sixteen colossi. The Priests who came to stop the Wanderer witness his transformation into the gigantic Dormin, and he tries to kill them until they retreat outside the Temple. Then the Priest throws the Shadow Blade into the well and a whirlwind peels away the shadows from Dormin until only the Wanderer remains, and he is too sucked into the whirlwind a few moments later. The Priest and his men leave the castle, collapsing the bridge behind them so no one can return there, and the young girl ressucitates according to Dormin and the Wanderer's pact. The young girl walks up to the well and picks up a baby with horns where the Wanderer was a moment ago.


The question for Shadow of the Colossus is : do you think the horned baby is the "first" and that when he grows up, he and the young girl have more children, and Ico would be one of their descendants? If the Priest and his men told their village about the curse of the horned boys, that would explain why Ico is taken to the abandonned castle when he grows horns.

Also, I read a theory that the castle in ICO surrounded by the ocean is in fact the Temple from Shadow of the Colossus, and that the region was flooded in some cataclysm.. it would explain why in both games you see shadow creatures spawning from the ground, or why a lot of mecanisms and such are similar. Also, the Shadow Blade seems to be a major plot element in both games, and we know that the Blade in Shadow of the Colossus was abandonned by the Priest in the Temple, and the Queen (who supposedly lives in the Temple too, if Temple = Castle) has the Blade in ICO.

Anyway this got confusing, so I'm gonna stop here, but I'm interested in the opinions of the people who played and enjoyed both or either game. Thanks!

[Zehn - Vhex]

Man, fuck you. I had just put all this out of my mind and now you go and bring it up again? Goddamnit.

[Runnen]

Sorry but I really need to know so I can make the voices in my head stop.

[Zehn - Vhex]

Anyways...

It was confirmed that the wanderer from SotC did indeed sire the line of horned boys that Ico is a descendent of. It was also confirmed it was the same land.

Some gamers also believe that you can see the castle from Ico in the distance in sotc.

[Runnen]

It does look like the castle from ICO, though obviously very blurry. I hope they release more games taking place in that world, without revealing too much or breaking the magic of the past games.

That's one less voice in my head, woo!

[Ahnkosis]

I just played and beat Shadow of the Colossus and I have to ask - should I go back and play ICO after having played such a kick ass game like SotC?

[Ham n Cheese]

After 4-5 colossus' I never played SotC again. It just all felt the same over and over. Great looking game, but didn't hold my interest. Same thing happened when I went to play ICO (though I think I was just bored of puzzles). Both endings (especially ICOs) sound really cool though.

[Szlia]

Do yourself a favor and complete both games, because some of the later fights in SotC are the most intense battles ever done in video games and the last third of ICO is packed with incredibly intense, poetic and/or visually stunning moments.

That said, 2 things: The sword in ICO and SotC are completely different.

In japan a book was written that is set in ICO's universe. It got published after ICO but before SotC... what it is about I have no idea!

[Ham n Cheese]

Well find out!

[Lorrac]

13th is one of the most awesome videogame moments ever. EVER.

[Rathgar]

Which one was 13? The sand glider boss? It's been a while.

[Lorrac]

Aye, the sand glider.