ICO speedrun

2006-04-12 03:20:03 am

...

I will have to redo the run if I want to send it in, so I'm doing that now.

I've done the first 2 segments already (the easiest ones) and I'm already 24 seconds ahead of my previous run. I'm constantly getting better at the superjump. I can perform it about 90% of the time now and have found some new uses for it (mostly where I wouldn't have used it before because it saved too little time compared with the risks). Also, on the last run I did, I was kinda still in "single-segment mode" meaning I didn't take enough risks. This time, I won't use any segment I'm not totally happy about. I think I will end up at least 2 minutes faster, probably way more.

Sir VG

2006-04-12 08:03:44 am

Fucking Weeaboo

I want to see this game ripped apart. Keep up the good work!

Zen

2006-04-14 07:05:36 am

Forward standard-by-ten .

Way to make a liar out of Dr. Ian!

Blublu

2006-04-15 01:25:46 am

...

Quote:

Way to make a liar out of Dr. Ian!

Huh?

Anyway, I completed my run and it ended up at 1:09:38 (in-game). Yeah, baby. Unfortunately I can't sumbit it until Nate's PAL capturing ability returns. Unless I want to try capturing myself, but that can only end in a disaster. Tongue

Neji-kun

2006-04-15 03:01:44 am

Quote:

I also get the feeling that if I do it multi-seg, everyone is just going to ask why I didn't SS, even if it is slower.

I disagree. A SS is actually quicker than MS because it takes you too far out of you're way to save.

Blublu

2006-04-15 04:24:51 am

...

In theory, yes. But in practice, the amount of luck required is extraordinary. There are a lot of small tricks that don't save a whole lot of time and are fatal if you fail. If you tried that in a single-segment, I think you would just go insane. The saves aren't that much out of the way, too. It doesn't take more than maybe at most 10 seconds each save.

And it's not like you can just practise a lot and become really good at the game. Some of the stuff is simply random. For example, skipping the shadow fight in the main room of the second tower (the room with the magic bridge) is about 80% random and you would need to be really brave (or nuts) to skip that one in a single-segment.

Zen

2006-04-15 05:52:24 am

Forward standard-by-ten .

Someone had a comment in their sig for a while by Dr. Ian about how Ico wasn't really a game for speed running. Tricks like this make that happily false.

I was just celebrating the advance.

saxman52

2006-04-19 02:18:47 am

It's been a long time since I've been on the forums, let alone this post. I'm glad someone went through with this run AND found some cool shortcuts. Props and I'll be waiting to watch this Smiley

Enhasa

2006-05-09 12:24:13 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

Oh god, this thread makes me feel like a deadbeat dad. =(

Blublu, that picture is the single funniest thing I have ever seen on SDA. While you're waiting for Nate, you could go back and see if you can come up with any more sequence breaks with the superjump.

Quote:

I've found a fairly good way of jumping. Remember the times you can jump immediately upon landing? Well, here's how to do it. Just release the control stick while in the air, then press it again in some direction as you land (and press triangle, of course).
Edit: If you have a weapon, you can of course swing it just before landing instead of doing this. Not recommended near walls, though.

I went back and tested this, because it would be quite nice, but it doesn't work for me. I'm pretty sure I tried it in the first place too.

Quote:

I disagree. A SS is actually quicker than MS because it takes you too far out of you're way to save.

If you think too hard about it, you could start applying this to all runs, like RPG runs.

Quote:

And it's not like you can just practise a lot and become really good at the game. Some of the stuff is simply random. For example, skipping the shadow fight in the main room of the second tower (the room with the magic bridge) is about 80% random and you would need to be really brave (or nuts) to skip that one in a single-segment.

The thing I love about talking with other people who have run a game is how they understand the exact problem areas, impressive feats, etc that even somebody who knew the game inside and out for normal play wouldn't.

Quote:

Someone had a comment in their sig for a while by Dr. Ian about how Ico wasn't really a game for speed running.

Oh, that was me. If anyone cares, the link is still here. At first I disagreed with him, then I agreed, now I don't know. =p

Quote:

It's been a long time since I've been on the forums, let alone this post. I'm glad someone went through with this run AND found some cool shortcuts. Props and I'll be waiting to watch this Smiley

Wait, I just realized, is that you saxman? The one who was going to run this originally way back when? Nice to see you again, and hope everything is going well!

Oh god, this thread makes me feel like a deadbeat dad. =(

Blublu, that picture is the single funniest thing I have ever seen on SDA. While you're waiting for Nate, you could go back and see if you can come up with any more sequence breaks with the superjump.

[quote]I've found a fairly good way of jumping. Remember the times you can jump immediately upon landing? Well, here's how to do it. Just release the control stick while in the air, then press it again in some direction as you land (and press triangle, of course).
Edit: If you have a weapon, you can of course swing it just before landing instead of doing this. Not recommended near walls, though.[/quote]
I went back and tested this, because it would be quite nice, but it doesn't work for me. I'm pretty sure I tried it in the first place too.

[quote]I disagree. A SS is actually quicker than MS because it takes you too far out of you're way to save.[/quote]
If you think too hard about it, you could start applying this to all runs, like RPG runs.

[quote]And it's not like you can just practise a lot and become really good at the game. Some of the stuff is simply random. For example, skipping the shadow fight in the main room of the second tower (the room with the magic bridge) is about 80% random and you would need to be really brave (or nuts) to skip that one in a single-segment.[/quote]
The thing I love about talking with other people who have run a game is how they understand the exact problem areas, impressive feats, etc that even somebody who knew the game inside and out for normal play wouldn't.

[quote]Someone had a comment in their sig for a while by Dr. Ian about how Ico wasn't really a game for speed running.[/quote]
Oh, that was me. If anyone cares, the link is still [url=http://www.cs.clemson.edu/~kjuang/files/dr_ian_ico.mp3]here[/url]. At first I disagreed with him, then I agreed, now I don't know. =p

[quote]It's been a long time since I've been on the forums, let alone this post. I'm glad someone went through with this run AND found some cool shortcuts. Props and I'll be waiting to watch this  :)[/quote]
Wait, I just realized, is that you saxman? The one who was going to run this originally way back when? Nice to see you again, and hope everything is going well!

Sir VG

2006-05-09 01:02:18 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

What happened to this video? I'm in need of new stuff to verify.

Enhasa

Edit history:

Enhasa: 2006-05-09 03:07:59 pm

2006-05-09 03:07:39 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

AFAIK it's in the pipeline somewhere. Actually, wait, instead of posting here I'll just PM you.

agopo

2006-06-18 07:02:39 pm

I wear glasses.

I didn't know this game, but the run was entertaining to watch. The game's atmosphere is fantastic, the architecture and animation of Yorda (? the ghost-like girl) are very pretty.

If someone actually improves the run, I'd watch that video as well Grin

Good job!

xeen

2006-06-19 11:10:14 pm

I liked your run, it seems pretty optimized. I actually downloaded it to see if it was similar to Prince of Persia which it kinda is. A pity the setting is most of the times the same and the "garden parts" are quite short but quite interesting nevertheless. However, I didn't really get the story (especially the ending). Could someone explain this to me (in the thread or via PM, don't know if you want to 'spoil' it here.
Thanks in advance,
xeen

Gorash

2006-06-19 11:41:18 pm

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Well, at least the (skipped) opening cutscene boils down to this one sentence:

Boy has horns, so his folks decide to dump him in that castle.

As far as I'm told there's not much added story later, but I'm sure Enhasa can clear that up.

spineshark

2006-06-20 05:21:52 am

新世紀進歩的羽扇子音楽

i am 99% sure* that enhasa is going to say that all the people who watched the run instead of playing the game and didn't understand stuff should just play the game. Wink

*going by thracia 776 statistics...which means the odds are closer to 2/3s and if i'm wrong i can just blame the lousy rng and lying statistics.

Sir VG

2006-06-20 05:57:10 am

Fucking Weeaboo

Quote:

i am 99% sure* that enhasa is going to say that all the people who watched the run instead of playing the game and didn't understand stuff should just play the game. Wink

*going by thracia 776 statistics...which means the odds are closer to 2/3s and if i'm wrong i can just blame the lousy rng and lying statistics.

Hell, even I'D say it. Cause this game is awesome. ^^

xeen

2006-06-20 08:36:25 am

Give me enough bucks to buy the console and find the game somewhere and I will. I just can't afford buying it Sad

Unfortunately...

Sir VG

Edit history:

Sir VG: 2006-06-20 11:04:57 am

2006-06-20 09:30:21 am

Fucking Weeaboo

Well, since you don't have the dough, I'll try to explain the storyline best I can off the top of my head.

Highlight (SPOILERS!!):
In a nearby village, whenever a child is born with horns, it is believed that it causes a curse. On the child's 12th birthday, they take them and leave them at the castle, which doing so wards off the curse.

However ICO gets lucky, as the tomb he's in has some slightly loose rock under it, and when he shakes it, he breaks free. After escaping the room, he finds Yorda, who speaks a mysterious language, and is wanted by the shadows. Seeing her, ICO takes her to help her escape through the castle.

Upon arriving at the main gate, the gates begin to close. ICO grabs Yorda and makes a mad dash, however she trips...losing their chance to escape. At this time, the Queen arrives saying that Yorda is her daughter and she will not be allowed to escape, and just leave her and go. ICO is upset and continues to protect her as they go through the two sides of the castle to open up the idol doors and return power to the gates.

After doing so, ICO takes Yorda back to the main gate and she uses her power to open it, however it takes a major drain on her strength (which is why she's very stumbly when doing across the drawbridge). Just a few steps away from freedom, the queen's power zaps Yorda, stopping her and causing ICO to lose his grip. Then she draws in the bridge, trying to permanently separate the two. ICO makes an attempt to get back, but Yorda's grasp isn't enough. The shadows consume her and ICO falls.

After a mad dash in the underside of the castle, ICO finds himself at the underground waterway, where the villagers brought him into the castle. There he finds the sword they used to open the idol statues (much like Yorda can). ICO makes his way back to the room where he started and finds Yorda turned into stone (due to the shadow's power). There he fights a mass of shadows...numerous other boys like him who's only mistake was to be born with horns. After beating them, he heads to the throne room.

But the Queen isn't there. But in a moment she is and gives ICO one last chance to surrender and leave. But he refuses. The Queen states that Yorda is not only her daughter, but soon her future body, as her present one is growing weak. ICO charges, but gets blasted aside, clipping a horn. Insert the battle between ICO and the Queen.

Upon delivering the final blow, the queen dies but says Yorda will never be able to leave, even with her death.

Because the Queen's magic controlled the castle, it crumbles after her death. ICO gets blown across the room and knocked unconscious. The shadows infest Yorda, turning her into a giant shadow. Realizing what has happened, she finds ICO and carries him to the boat at the underside entrance. Putting him in, and knowing she can't go with, she pushes him off so that he may live, and tells him goodbye.

As for after that, when ICO woke up on the desert beach, he finds...Yorda? But, is it really her? Or just a dream?

The eternal mystery.

The end.

Well, since you don't have the dough, I'll try to explain the storyline best I can off the top of my head.

Highlight (SPOILERS!!):
[color=gray]In a nearby village, whenever a child is born with horns, it is believed that it causes a curse.  On the child's 12th birthday, they take them and leave them at the castle, which doing so wards off the curse.

However ICO gets lucky, as the tomb he's in has some slightly loose rock under it, and when he shakes it, he breaks free.  After escaping the room, he finds Yorda, who speaks a mysterious language, and is wanted by the shadows.  Seeing her, ICO takes her to help her escape through the castle.

Upon arriving at the main gate, the gates begin to close.  ICO grabs Yorda and makes a mad dash, however she trips...losing their chance to escape.  At this time, the Queen arrives saying that Yorda is her daughter and she will not be allowed to escape, and just leave her and go.  ICO is upset and continues to protect her as they go through the two sides of the castle to open up the idol doors and return power to the gates.

After doing so, ICO takes Yorda back to the main gate and she uses her power to open it, however it takes a major drain on her strength (which is why she's very stumbly when doing across the drawbridge).  Just a few steps away from freedom, the queen's power zaps Yorda, stopping her and causing ICO to lose his grip.  Then she draws in the bridge, trying to permanently separate the two.  ICO makes an attempt to get back, but Yorda's grasp isn't enough.  The shadows consume her and ICO falls.

After a mad dash in the underside of the castle, ICO finds himself at the underground waterway, where the villagers brought him into the castle.  There he finds the sword they used to open the idol statues (much like Yorda can).  ICO makes his way back to the room where he started and finds Yorda turned into stone (due to the shadow's power).  There he fights a mass of shadows...numerous other boys like him who's only mistake was to be born with horns.  After beating them, he heads to the throne room.

But the Queen isn't there.  But in a moment she is and gives ICO one last chance to surrender and leave.  But he refuses.  The Queen states that Yorda is not only her daughter, but soon her future body, as her present one is growing weak.  ICO charges, but gets blasted aside, clipping a horn.  Insert the battle between ICO and the Queen.

Upon delivering the final blow, the queen dies but says Yorda will never be able to leave, even with her death.

Because the Queen's magic controlled the castle, it crumbles after her death.  ICO gets blown across the room and knocked unconscious.  The shadows infest Yorda, turning her into a giant shadow.  Realizing what has happened, she finds ICO and carries him to the boat at the underside entrance.  Putting him in, and knowing she can't go with, she pushes him off so that he may live, and tells him goodbye.

As for after that, when ICO woke up on the desert beach, he finds...Yorda?  But, is it really her?  Or just a dream?

The eternal mystery.[/color]

The end.

Enhasa

Edit history:

Enhasa: 2006-06-20 10:39:42 am

2006-06-20 10:35:22 am

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

First, some housekeeping stuff.

If anybody watched the original upload back at super-play, and hasn't played the game, the ending that is included with the segmented (but NOT the SS) has the intro tacked on afterwards. If you want to watch it first, it starts at about 13:30.

Second, because I'm not sure if anybody caught it, while I'm waiting around for the shadows to spawn in West Tower, what I am doing is inputting the Konami Code with the right analog aka camera. Maybe people noticed and didn't find it noteworthy, but this was a little thing I put in there like playing to the music in other games.

Finally, the trick I'm referring to in the comments is intentionally letting the shadows kidnap Yorda so I can take the chain as a shortcut down to the lower level in the chandelier room. It's possible someone else might find that obvious, but I nearly shat myself when I figured that out.

Quote:

I didn't know this game, but the run was entertaining to watch. The game's atmosphere is fantastic, the architecture and animation of Yorda (? the ghost-like girl) are very pretty.

If someone actually improves the run, I'd watch that video as well Grin

I don't know if these runs will be improved by anyone anytime soon because in my mind the annoyance is not worth the possible improvement, BUT luckily, Blublu is doing a segmented EU run (read run comments, earlier in thread too). It is about an hour apparently, and waiting for Nate's PAL capturing is the only thing that has held this up. This will be a great watch because of the sequence breaking.

Quote:

I liked your run, it seems pretty optimized. I actually downloaded it to see if it was similar to Prince of Persia which it kinda is. A pity the setting is most of the times the same and the "garden parts" are quite short but quite interesting nevertheless. However, I didn't really get the story (especially the ending). Could someone explain this to me (in the thread or via PM, don't know if you want to 'spoil' it here.
Thanks in advance,
xeen

Ico and SotC really don't have much comparison except to themselves, which you've probably heard. PoP (SOT was a bit over 2 years later btw) and Zelda only get thrown around because people can't really do any better.

We could actually have story discussion right here, since there's also some ambiguity built in. I played around for a minute, and found out you can do ersatz spoiler tags by doing "font=gray" and "/font" in brackets.

Gorash is right, the story itself actually doesn't have a lot of "stuff" happening, but I much prefer this over the majority of RPG or fantasy/sci-fi plots, which is mainly a lot of stuff happening with no thematic significance. What I mean is: you see scripts of RPGs on gamefaqs. For Ico, there is a 200k plot analysis, for a game with only a handful of sentences in dialogue.

spineshark knows me too well by now, although he hedged. Tongue

I'm actually never in support of watching a run in lieu of playing the game. You get solutions and plot spoiled, which especially sucks for puzzle games with story like Ico, but not only that, you don't have much of an understanding of the run itself. My brother actually beat Ico, and even he didn't realize most of the sequence breaks weren't what you were "supposed" to do. And then of course, the only people who really understand everything are other people who have tried running: in this case, Sir VG, Blublu, and saxman. Oh and even Dr Ian. (I went back and checked the 1st page, and it is pretty nostalgic. I even posted a bunch of tips, maybe half of which were flat out wrong. :-[)

Anyway, so I've heard that Ico is a good game for watching instead of playing, but IMHO it's actually one of the worst. (And if you disagree, more power to you, but I think it's safe to say you didn't "connect" on an emotional level like some of us did.) You get to watch the awe-inspiring graphics, but THE core point of this game (and the story) is the interaction with Yorda. Watching the run, it feels like a nice afternoon adventure, but when you first play the game, it's scary. You don't know what the game is about until you are fucking terrified to leave Yorda behind as you try to clear a path. I've also heard stories of people walking around with Yorda everywhere because they feel bad running and jerking her around.

OTOH, and this was what Dr Ian was referring to, the game is also about taking your time and enjoying all of the scenery. I know I spent hours my first playthrough looking around everywhere with the camera. Everyone talks about how amazing it is that the world is actually to scale and how it could be physically built, and how incredible it is that you can look around with the camera and see everywhere else you've already been or will be, but it's still amazing to this day.

I think that probably if you want to fully appreciate the game though (one of my favorites of all time), you'd want to fully understand everything that is going on thematically and plot-wise with the shadows. It helps a lot if you've played SotC (canonically a prequel, if you didn't know) to get the whole picture. Specifically, and this is just plot: (BIG SPOILERS, highlight to see)

To get the full impact, you have to realize that the shadows in this game are sacrificed horned children, during the big fight at the end in the tomb room. The writers don't beat you over the head movie-style, so I think most people never even realize. OTOH, it's possible that you are either super smart or played SotC first and figured out earlier, which is ok but not quite as powerful.

Thematically (which I won't get into yet), it's not very complex or even original, but it's handled very subtly.

Edit: I just read what Sir VG has, and he does a good job of summing up everything that happens (which might ought to be spoiler tagged, lol). I do disagree with a couple of things though, involving shadows. And also I'm pretty sure I know the "answer" (and that there is one) to the (spoiler) afterlife or not? question.

First, some housekeeping stuff.

If anybody watched the original upload back at super-play, and hasn't played the game, the ending that is included with the segmented (but NOT the SS) has the intro tacked on afterwards. If you want to watch it first, it starts at about 13:30.

Second, because I'm not sure if anybody caught it, while I'm waiting around for the shadows to spawn in West Tower, what I am doing is inputting the Konami Code with the right analog aka camera. Maybe people noticed and didn't find it noteworthy, but this was a little thing I put in there like playing to the music in other games.

Finally, the trick I'm referring to in the comments is intentionally letting the shadows kidnap Yorda so I can take the chain as a shortcut down to the lower level in the chandelier room. It's possible someone else might find that obvious, but I nearly shat myself when I figured that out.

[quote]I didn't know this game, but the run was entertaining to watch. The game's atmosphere is fantastic, the architecture and animation of Yorda (? the ghost-like girl) are very pretty.

If someone actually improves the run, I'd watch that video as well ;D[/quote]
I don't know if these runs will be improved by anyone anytime soon because in my mind the annoyance is not worth the possible improvement, BUT luckily, Blublu is doing a segmented EU run (read run comments, earlier in thread too). It [i]is[/i] about an hour apparently, and waiting for Nate's PAL capturing is the only thing that has held this up. This will be a great watch because of the sequence breaking.

[quote]I liked your run, it seems pretty optimized. I actually downloaded it to see if it was similar to Prince of Persia which it kinda is. A pity the setting is most of the times the same and the "garden parts" are quite short but quite interesting nevertheless. However, I didn't really get the story (especially the ending). Could someone explain this to me (in the thread or via PM, don't know if you want to 'spoil' it here.
Thanks in advance,
xeen[/quote]
Ico and SotC really don't have much comparison except to themselves, which you've probably heard. PoP (SOT was a bit over 2 years later btw) and Zelda only get thrown around because people can't really do any better.

We could actually have story discussion right here, since there's also some ambiguity built in. I played around for a minute, and found out you can do ersatz spoiler tags by doing "font=gray" and "/font" in brackets.

Gorash is right, the story itself actually doesn't have a lot of "stuff" happening, but I much prefer this over the majority of RPG or fantasy/sci-fi plots, which is mainly a lot of stuff happening with no thematic significance. What I mean is: you see scripts of RPGs on gamefaqs. For Ico, there is a [url=http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/ico_annotation.txt]200k plot analysis[/url], for a game with only a handful of sentences in dialogue.

spineshark knows me too well by now, although he hedged. :P I'm actually never in support of watching a run in lieu of playing the game. You get solutions and plot spoiled, which especially sucks for puzzle games with story like Ico, but not only that, you don't have much of an understanding of the run itself. My brother actually beat Ico, and even he didn't realize most of the sequence breaks weren't what you were "supposed" to do. And then of course, the only people who [i]really[/i] understand everything are other people who have tried running: in this case, Sir VG, Blublu, and saxman. Oh and even Dr Ian. (I went back and checked the 1st page, and it is pretty nostalgic. I even posted a bunch of tips, maybe half of which were flat out wrong. :-[)

Anyway, so I've heard that Ico is a good game for watching instead of playing, but IMHO it's actually one of the worst. (And if you disagree, more power to you, but I think it's safe to say you didn't "connect" on an emotional level like some of us did.) You get to watch the awe-inspiring graphics, but THE core point of this game (and the story) is the interaction with Yorda. Watching the run, it feels like a nice afternoon adventure, but when you first play the game, it's scary. You don't know what the game is about until you are [i]fucking terrified[/i] to leave Yorda behind as you try to clear a path. I've also heard stories of people walking around with Yorda everywhere because they feel bad running and jerking her around.

OTOH, and this was what Dr Ian was referring to, the game is also about taking your time and enjoying all of the scenery. I know I spent hours my first playthrough looking around everywhere with the camera. Everyone talks about how amazing it is that the world is actually to scale and how it could be physically built, and how incredible it is that you can look around with the camera and see everywhere else you've already been or will be, but it's still amazing to this day.

I think that probably if you want to fully appreciate the game though (one of my favorites of all time), you'd want to fully understand everything that is going on thematically and plot-wise with the shadows. It helps a lot if you've played SotC (canonically a prequel, if you didn't know) to get the whole picture. Specifically, and this is just plot: (BIG SPOILERS, highlight to see)

[color=gray]To get the full impact, you have to realize that the shadows in this game are sacrificed horned children, during the big fight at the end in the tomb room. The writers don't beat you over the head movie-style, so I think most people never even realize. OTOH, it's possible that you are either super smart or played SotC first and figured out earlier, which is ok but not quite as powerful.[/color]

Thematically (which I won't get into yet), it's not very complex or even original, but it's handled very subtly.

Edit: I just read what Sir VG has, and he does a good job of summing up everything that happens (which might ought to be spoiler tagged, lol). I do disagree with a couple of things though, involving shadows. And also I'm pretty sure I know the "answer" (and that there is one) to the (spoiler) [color=gray]afterlife or not?[/color] question.

Sir VG

2006-06-20 11:02:14 am

Fucking Weeaboo

Quote:

Finally, the trick I'm referring to in the comments is intentionally letting the shadows kidnap Yorda so I can take the chain as a shortcut down to the lower level in the chandelier room. It's possible someone else might find that obvious, but I nearly shat myself when I figured that out.

I knew about that trick before watching your run. I would have kicked your ass if you missed it. ^^

Quote:

...when you first play the game, it's scary. You don't know what the game is about until you are fucking terrified to leave Yorda behind as you try to clear a path. I've also heard stories of people walking around with Yorda everywhere because they feel bad running and jerking her around.

Indeed, VERY true. And when Yorda has to jump into ICO's grasp, you just gasp for air. ZOMG IS SHE GONNA DIE?!?!

Though I did have Yorda die from something non-shadowish. The room with that horizontal platform (just after the sewer), if Yorda isn't properly on the platform, like half-on when you pull the lever, the camera will switch back just in time to watch this white streak fall to the bottom of the screen. I saw that and was just...OOPS. ;_;

[quote]Finally, the trick I'm referring to in the comments is intentionally letting the shadows kidnap Yorda so I can take the chain as a shortcut down to the lower level in the chandelier room. It's possible someone else might find that obvious, but I nearly shat myself when I figured that out. [/quote]

I knew about that trick before watching your run.  I would have kicked your ass if you missed it. ^^

[quote]...when you first play the game, it's scary. You don't know what the game is about until you are fucking terrified to leave Yorda behind as you try to clear a path. I've also heard stories of people walking around with Yorda everywhere because they feel bad running and jerking her around.  [/quote]

Indeed, VERY true.  And when Yorda has to jump into ICO's grasp, you just gasp for air.  ZOMG IS SHE GONNA DIE?!?!

Though I did have Yorda die from something non-shadowish.  The room with that horizontal platform (just after the sewer), if Yorda isn't properly on the platform, like half-on when you pull the lever, the camera will switch back just in time to watch this white streak fall to the bottom of the screen.  I saw that and was just...OOPS. ;_;

Enhasa

2006-06-20 11:05:07 am

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

I've had her die like that in a couple places too. Including in the middle of a SS attempt. If you notice, I make extra sure that she is more or less safely situated in the middle of an elevator/platform before I operate it. Wink

Sir VG

2006-06-20 11:22:01 am

Fucking Weeaboo

Quote:

I've had her die like that in a couple places too. Including in the middle of a SS attempt. If you notice, I make extra sure that she is more or less safely situated in the middle of an elevator/platform before I operate it. Wink

Yeah, that's a sux0r place to die. The only place that's worse is the hanging cages.

JUMP ICOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo.....

nate

Edit history:

nate: 2006-06-20 06:51:35 pm

2006-06-20 06:04:44 pm

i can capture pal vhs now, even 60 hz afaik, although it's not been tested.

and i really enjoyed watching these runs. sometimes i really find these things boring to watch while i'm capturing them, and i guess i need to tell a little more about what was going on when i was capturing ico so you can understand how ico was different.

ico was one of the very first runs i captured using the new dvd recorder method (this was the same one frezy_man now has, while i bought a replacement for myself). i'm a veteran of troubleshooting dvd compatibility problems from when i used to run the sda dvd production stuff, but it took me a while to get all the media compatibility figured out with the new dvd recorder. i had these old crappy dvd-rws that were only 2x or something that i thought might work in the new recorder, so i kept trying to put ico on those and it kept failing right before the end when it would try to finalize. i guess it has to read data back off the disc at some point in order to finalize, so it knew even before taking the disc out that it was incompatible. but i wasn't totally sure it was incompatible at first - i thought it might be that you're not supposed to let the dvd record all the way to the end, etc. so i kept trying and trying, eventually watching the ico runs maybe five or six times through all told.

and then, as anyone who has been watching the "sda video quality needs improved" topic knows, ico remained on my hard drive for a considerable length of time even after the runs had been released to serve as a d4 f2 3d sample source for doing x264 encoding tests, first through vdub and later through megui.

i read about what happens in the intro on gamefaqs, and also read enough to fill in other blanks in the story as i was watching, so i guess i think i understand the story pretty well. it's actually quite a good story by itself, but i think to put you in ico's shoes just makes it brilliant. reminds me of ecco, actually, and that's about the highest compliment i could give.

i can capture pal vhs now, even 60 hz afaik, although it's not been tested.

and i really enjoyed watching these runs. sometimes i really find these things boring to watch while i'm capturing them, and i guess i need to tell a little more about what was going on when i was capturing ico so you can understand how ico was different.

ico was one of the very first runs i captured using the new dvd recorder method (this was the same one frezy_man now has, while i bought a replacement for myself). i'm a veteran of troubleshooting dvd compatibility problems from when i used to run the sda dvd production stuff, but it took me a while to get all the media compatibility figured out with the new dvd recorder. i had these old crappy dvd-rws that were only 2x or something that i thought might work in the new recorder, so i kept trying to put ico on those and it kept failing right before the end when it would try to finalize. i guess it has to read data back off the disc at some point in order to finalize, so it knew even before taking the disc out that it was incompatible. but i wasn't totally sure it was incompatible at first - i thought it might be that you're not supposed to let the dvd record all the way to the end, etc. so i kept trying and trying, eventually watching the ico runs maybe five or six times through all told.

and then, as anyone who has been watching the "sda video quality needs improved" topic knows, ico remained on my hard drive for a considerable length of time even after the runs had been released to serve as a d4 f2 3d sample source for doing x264 encoding tests, first through vdub and later through megui.

i read about what happens in the intro on gamefaqs, and also read enough to fill in other blanks in the story as i was watching, so i guess i think i understand the story pretty well. it's actually quite a good story by itself, but i think to put you in ico's shoes just makes it brilliant. reminds me of ecco, actually, and that's about the highest compliment i could give.

Enhasa

Edit history:

Enhasa: 2006-06-20 06:53:09 pm

2006-06-20 06:49:04 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

I've been assuming that you don't have a PS2, or else you would probably have heard about and played this by now. The funny thing is (make your own conclusions for reasons) that for this and many other games, you hear a lot of "this should have been released on GC" or "this should be on the DS," but not the other way around.

I promise, the biggest single thought I had while sending this in was: I bet Nate would really love this game. Not that I have any real reason other than his being a Mac guy and into A/V (for the aesthetics), as well as some populist leanings (for the humanity of the story) I think. I don't go to m2k2 or really much talk with him, so this is a guess at best.

I was actually going to make a thread a while back about personalized game recommendations I had for lots of SDA people, and I would have had Ico for Nate. The idea would be that other people would make their own, it would be kind of cute, and maybe I could have picked up some good recommendations from other people. I didn't actually make this thread because I never bothered to finish thinking about it, and the gratuitous name dropping might be a little too much.

I still say you need to actually play this (and SotC) to really understand all of the story. Tongue

I don't feel like explaining what I think of the entire story right now, but I realized that since I answered someone's question about the ending on gamefaqs, I can copy/paste that here. I don't explain in full but I try to answer the question:

One thing I want to say first though, is that it seems to me that Yorda was turned to stone by the Queen (to prepare/hold her for the soul transpiritation) and not the shadows. If you think back to fantasy convention on what "wicked witches" can often do, this makes sense. So at the end, when the shadows use that lightning on Yorda, I would say that they are actually freeing her from the petrification.

2.In the end they show yorda as a shadow creature then how come in the end they show here normal on the island?

2. Many people think that the ending on the beach is the afterlife for Ico. There are many strong arguments for this (although Peter disagrees to say the least, lol), but I think one big indication the ending is "real" is that Ico struggles to get out of the boat. I think this was put in there to indicate that the end occurs in the physical realm and is not the afterlife.

So given that Yorda really does survive, how? If you've played SotC, this will make more sense (i.e. how do Mono or Wander "survive"). But you can think of this as: the souls of the other horned kids (the shadows) repaid Ico's debt of freeing them by giving Yorda the power to save both her and Ico. After she pushes Ico away in the boat, we can only assume that somehow (the essence of Dormin is pretty powerful after all) "shadow Yorda" was able to make it to safety as well, and then the shadows left her. This would make sense as they were only fusing with her temporarily to help her.

I've been assuming that you don't have a PS2, or else you would probably have heard about and played this by now. The funny thing is (make your own conclusions for reasons) that for this and many other games, you hear a lot of "this should have been released on GC" or "this should be on the DS," but not the other way around.

I promise, the biggest single thought I had while sending this in was: I bet Nate would really love this game. Not that I have any real reason other than his being a Mac guy and into A/V (for the aesthetics), as well as some populist leanings (for the humanity of the story) I think. I don't go to m2k2 or really much talk with him, so this is a guess at best.

I was actually going to make a thread a while back about personalized game recommendations I had for lots of SDA people, and I would have had Ico for Nate. The idea would be that other people would make their own, it would be kind of cute, and maybe I could have picked up some good recommendations from other people. I didn't actually make this thread because I never bothered to finish thinking about it, and the gratuitous name dropping might be a little too much.

I still say you need to actually play this (and SotC) to really understand all of the story. :P

I don't feel like explaining what I think of the entire story right now, but I realized that since I answered someone's question about the ending on gamefaqs, I can copy/paste that here. I don't explain in full but I try to answer the question:

[color=gray]One thing I want to say first though, is that it seems to me that Yorda was turned to stone by the Queen (to prepare/hold her for the soul transpiritation) and not the shadows. If you think back to fantasy convention on what "wicked witches" can often do, this makes sense. So at the end, when the shadows use that lightning on Yorda, I would say that they are actually freeing her from the petrification.

2.In the end they show yorda as a shadow creature then how come in the end they show here normal on the island?

2. Many people think that the ending on the beach is the afterlife for Ico. There are many strong arguments for this (although Peter disagrees to say the least, lol), but I think one big indication the ending is "real" is that Ico struggles to get out of the boat. I think this was put in there to indicate that the end occurs in the physical realm and is not the afterlife.

So given that Yorda really does survive, how? If you've played SotC, this will make more sense (i.e. how do Mono or Wander "survive"). But you can think of this as: the souls of the other horned kids (the shadows) repaid Ico's debt of freeing them by giving Yorda the power to save both her and Ico. After she pushes Ico away in the boat, we can only assume that somehow (the essence of Dormin is pretty powerful after all) "shadow Yorda" was able to make it to safety as well, and then the shadows left her. This would make sense as they were only fusing with her temporarily to help her.[/color]

spineshark

Edit history:

spineshark: 2006-06-20 07:06:53 pm

2006-06-20 06:57:10 pm

新世紀進歩的羽扇子音楽

nate was also totally recommended sotc actually, haha. you might not want to read that thread though, for reasons you're probably able to guess. (it's not like i'm telling you that because i said anything stupid though hahaha)

you know, i hedged because even though your personality seems much more consistent than mine, i've been known to be wrong about even more obvious things.

edit: i was skimming this thread...
a) psychochild likes his gamestop sales
b) wait, what's with sokoban? i played that!