Mystic_Ode
@icoshrine.neocities.org
I share obscure interviews, hidden details, and promo material for ICO (PS2). I also repost Team ICO community fanart, reviews, and news. https://icoshrine.neocities.org/
PlayStation Underground Issue 4.2 (released sometime in the Summer 2000 yearly quarter, likely June or July) has footage of ICO which uses a finalized rendition of "You Were There" as a background track. So the song was likely written, composed, and recorded sometime before the Summer of 2000. 🧵
This iceberg chart serves as a table of contents for the ICO encyclopedia I've long been building up in my brain. Feel free to reach out and ask me about any of them (but don't anticipate a quick response). Also, in case Bluesky ruins the quality: mysticode54.tumblr.com/post/7830064...
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Challenge: Ask me a question about ICO and I'll try to talk about that subject for as long as I can without redundancy or unnecessary info.
Shadow of the Colossus always had the best horse riding vibes, to me. There's games where riding a horse feels video gamey (Ocarina of Time, Elden Ring) and there's games where horse riding feels horsey (Breath of the Wild, Red Dead) but I really like the riding vibes when on Agro.
This page is a treasure trove of exclusive game trivia. 13,000+ words dedicated to uncovering 24 year old cut content from the cult-classic #PS2 game, #ICO (including those huge enemies below). And most of it was hidden in plain sight! If you're interested, please bookmark it and give it a read.
ICO Shrine
icoshrine.neocities.org
Mystic_Ode@icoshrine.neocities.org · 3w agoThanks to the #VGHF Digital Library and the nudge of an retrospective forum comment, I was able to find print evidence of a scrapped enemy type in #ICO that we once only had animation data for. archive.gamehistory.org/item/3e70860...
ICO Trivia #5: In the final battle against The Shadows, the spirits emit a set of pained sounds when struck. In previous battles, they did not make a sound upon their defeat. When you listen closely, the new sounds seem to be distorted copies of Ico's own pained grunts.
If you noticed I've been quiet lately, it's because I discovered Colors TCG. I've since been absorbed by the goal of not only collecting the existing ICO and Shadow cards, but figuring out what images of my own to donate to create more Team ICO decks. I even made custom graphics for the community.
When he says “we are friends with…” I don’t know who “we” refers to. it’s double translated because this was a french interview, so we may be getting into odd games of telephone here.
Aonuma on convergent ideas with Fumito Ueda, 2017. Source: Nintendo Everything #Zelda #BreathoftheWildQuote, #TheLastGuardianQuote, #ShadowoftheColossusQuote #AonumaQuote, #UedaQuote nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-on-ze...
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 53. Zelda Franchise Producer.
- Fumito Ueda, age 46. Director of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian.
QUOTE:
Aonuma: It’s funny that you’re mentioning this game, because we are friends with Mr. Ueda and he’s always said that he wanted to make a game like Zelda—hence the similarities in Shadow of the Colossus.
Mr. Ueda was kind enough to send me a copy of The Last Guardian late last year and as I was playing it, I noticed the moments when you climb on Trico’s head to find a path, and jump to reach places that were inaccessible from the height you were at. Without seeing each other or talking about it, I realize we had the same idea. It’s amusing to see we had the same inspirations, the same gameplay [inclination] at different times.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreigrskqgqos3ju6wwbmtnfqcd2k5dudhu6pmkbwmigtptplyx2kbyq)
This page is a treasure trove of exclusive game trivia. 13,000+ words dedicated to uncovering 24 year old cut content from the cult-classic #PS2 game, #ICO (including those huge enemies below). And most of it was hidden in plain sight! If you're interested, please bookmark it and give it a read.
ICO Shrine
icoshrine.neocities.org
Mystic_Ode@icoshrine.neocities.org · 3w agoThanks to the #VGHF Digital Library and the nudge of an retrospective forum comment, I was able to find print evidence of a scrapped enemy type in #ICO that we once only had animation data for. archive.gamehistory.org/item/3e70860...
Caitlyn got me a new wedding ring for our anniversary. It has all 16 colossi on the band and I love it so much!
My favorite is in the same map, however. It's right here.
Can't tell what it is? Neither could I, until I saw this early concept art for the stage. Those two broken up slabs, resting parallel on either side of the waterway, are the ends of a bridge!
Though this puzzle was almost completely changed, the devs still wanted this remnant here. More than just being an indicator or a memento like the broken bar, I think to them it just made sense, once they designed the original puzzle, that a bridge would have been there in the past.
I think this is why I've had such a disconnect with hearing people talk about shadow of the colossus/the last guardian and my own experiences with those games. They often complain about the game not always cooperating with what they want to happen, and imo that disempowerment is a crucial part
So, focusing on the sofas: When they were incorporated into the PS1 version, they were just normal cushioned seats (like in the Pilot) with some differing upholstery. Pictures: 1. A LightWave3D render of a red sofa 2. A teal sofa can be found in the corner 3. A sofa's arm peaks out from the dark
It's unclear when the switch to a unified, stone sofa design was made. But I suspect it was at some point during early-to-mid PS2 development. The stone design was likely picked for blending in more, aesthetically, with the castle's own materials.
Hi, we're a new video game oral histories site. Want to read the story of Shadow of the Colossus, as told by 11 people who worked on it? Or hear what Will Wright has to say about Spore in retrospect? Or see previously unreleased footage of Nintendo's Sound Fantasy? Check us out at designroom.site
A number of these planned theory pages (underlined but not in white) are just videos I made for YouTube that will get proper detailed webpages. But among the options listed, I wonder what people are looking forward to the most? I can't guarantee it'll be quick, but I can try to work on that next.
![A webpage on ICO Shrine with a list of links, some not accessible yet. It reads:
"The I and CO Buildings"
An interpretation of the Castle’s construction and use.
"Family Resemblance"
Speculation on Yorda’s origins.
"Ico’s Sixth Sense"
Ideas on Ico’s nature and abilities.
"The ICO/Shadow Pattern"
Contemplating the significance of a specific pattern that emerges across games.
"Yorda’s Hieroglyphs" [Linked]
An interpretation of each ideogram seen in Yorda’s Language.
Decoding
"Yorda's Language" [Linked]
"Ico's Language"
"Reading Between The Lines of ICO's Manuals" [Linked]
A tangled web of cut content is unraveled through the seemingly innocuous instruction guides.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:3mrguaooj5oukbjakyj727zl/bafkreia4pw5relaytfjeun7sv5tymxfyvnqnz6aet22qahn2bsmzhjk2fa)
Glad to see the ICO Vinyl will be based on the Perfect Music Files release which includes all the little jingles and melodies that play for the briefer cutscenes and moments of progress. I just hope no one is misled into believing they're getting 41 tracks that are all 1 minute long minimum.
A number of these planned theory pages (underlined but not in white) are just videos I made for YouTube that will get proper detailed webpages. But among the options listed, I wonder what people are looking forward to the most? I can't guarantee it'll be quick, but I can try to work on that next.
Glad to see the ICO Vinyl will be based on the Perfect Music Files release which includes all the little jingles and melodies that play for the briefer cutscenes and moments of progress. I just hope no one is misled into believing they're getting 41 tracks that are all 1 minute long minimum.
