Game Debate #136: Ico

[Reed Rothchild | 9,523]

[Gloves | 11,777]

Gave 'er an 8. Really great game, but not my favorite. Definitely suggest it to anyone who's not played it, keeping in mind it can be a bit slow.

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

I'm purging my PS2 gear here pretty soon I think.  So it'll likely never see play from me.

[RH | 4,903]

This has to be one of the most hyped PS2 games that I know practically nothing about.  I'm intrigued, but I doubt I'll ever pick it up and give it a try.  I am interested though.

[Gloves | 11,777]

46 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

I'm purging my PS2 gear here pretty soon I think.  So it'll likely never see play from me.

[DefaultGen | 5,402]

Never played it despite how hard it is to resist that sick box art. 

[wongojack | 214]

Have owned it for years, but never played it.

[cj_robot | 542]

I got this right when it came out, but never ended up playing all the way through. It's been so long now, I can't really give it a proper score. I remember it seemed really interesting, kind of like the 3D evolution of whatever you call the genre that Out of This World belongs to, if that makes any sense.

After having a lot of fun with Shadow of the Colossus last year, I'll probably get back to Ico some time soon.

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

10 for me.  I like it a lot.  

But who could have guessed that?

Any chance we could include the Japanese box art in the first post?

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

I was never very impressed with it, and never finished it.  It was fairly pretty, especially as a PS2 title, but to me, it was nearly all gameplay with a little bit of forced atmosphere to try to fill out where a story should have been.

Funny story, when I finally sat down and got around to playing it, I apparently got about 50-60% through the game before hitting a point where I just couldn't make any progress.  So, after a few hours, I broke down and looked up a guide.  @Rhapsody98 was in the room and either reading over my shoulder as I looked it up or heard my commentary on it, as I discovered what was up.  The solution to the room I was in was simple, "hit all the bad guys in the room with your stick as quickly as possible, then climb up, pull the princess after you, and scoot."  I was left scratching my head, saying out loud, "Stick?  What stick?"  So I paged back to the beginning of the walkthrough, only to discover that I hadn't picked up a piece of my destroyed cage on the very first screen, but had instead been playing the game on "super hard mode," having to dodge around all the floaty bad guys without it.  I swore a bit and yelled about the the damned stick, all the while @Rhapsody98 is cackling, and doing her best to get air while being paralyzed by the lunacy and idiocy of my predicament.  So, I ended up going all the way back to the beginning, got the stick, then getting back to the point where I'd originally gotten stuck, got to the screen past it, saved, then forgot to go back and finish it, probably for more than a decade now, lol.

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

22 minutes ago, darkchylde28 said:

I was never very impressed with it, and never finished it.  It was fairly pretty, especially as a PS2 title, but to me, it was nearly all gameplay with a little bit of forced atmosphere to try to fill out where a story should have been.

Funny story, when I finally sat down and got around to playing it, I apparently got about 50-60% through the game before hitting a point where I just couldn't make any progress.  So, after a few hours, I broke down and looked up a guide.  @Rhapsody98 was in the room and either reading over my shoulder as I looked it up or heard my commentary on it, as I discovered what was up.  The solution to the room I was in was simple, "hit all the bad guys in the room with your stick as quickly as possible, then climb up, pull the princess after you, and scoot."  I was left scratching my head, saying out loud, "Stick?  What stick?"  So I paged back to the beginning of the walkthrough, only to discover that I hadn't picked up a piece of my destroyed cage on the very first screen, but had instead been playing the game on "super hard mode," having to dodge around all the floaty bad guys without it.  I swore a bit and yelled about the the damned stick, all the while @Rhapsody98 is cackling, and doing her best to get air while being paralyzed by the lunacy and idiocy of my predicament.  So, I ended up going all the way back to the beginning, got the stick, then getting back to the point where I'd originally gotten stuck, got to the screen past it, saved, then forgot to go back and finish it, probably for more than a decade now, lol.

The stick that's on the cover of the game?  Lmao 

Edited January 12, 2023 by JamesRobot

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

6 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

The stick that's on the cover of the game?  Lmao 

Yeah, well, it didn't fall away from the cage, at least not on my screen, lol.  In my defense, I had heard such good things about the game that I went in as completely blind as possible, basically only knowing that you're a kid with horns on your head with a mysterious origin and you try to drag a princess away from danger to save her.  When I got back to get the stick, I had to move around a few times hitting the action button before the little sucker picked it up out of the debris pile and let me be on my way.  Does that count for the "soft lock" thread? 

[G-type | 2,480]

I always was interested in this game, but it was just a bit to pricey for me get it

[spacepup | 2,404]

I've always enjoyed Ico.  I gave it an 8.  

I remember reading about it before it came out, and it just looked, well, different from other games.  It's definitely a very different pace and style of game - more slow, adventure/exploration/almost artsy at times.  I really enjoyed the experience, but I can understand how it isn't for everyone.

 

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

1 hour ago, G-type said:

I always was interested in this game, but it was just a bit to pricey for me get it

The PS2 version is about a $20 game, and the PS3 remaster is pretty easy to find for under $20 (plus it comes with SOTC).  

I highly recommend playing the PS3 version since it make an incredibly beautiful game look that much better.  And while PS3 era remasters are known for being buggy, the ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection is done incredibly well with no issues that I can think of.  

[glazball | 168]

I enjoyed it more than Shadow of the Colossus, though both are great games.  8/10 for me.

[RH | 4,903]

17 hours ago, darkchylde28 said:

I was never very impressed with it, and never finished it.  It was fairly pretty, especially as a PS2 title, but to me, it was nearly all gameplay with a little bit of forced atmosphere to try to fill out where a story should have been.

Funny story, when I finally sat down and got around to playing it, I apparently got about 50-60% through the game before hitting a point where I just couldn't make any progress.  So, after a few hours, I broke down and looked up a guide.  @Rhapsody98 was in the room and either reading over my shoulder as I looked it up or heard my commentary on it, as I discovered what was up.  The solution to the room I was in was simple, "hit all the bad guys in the room with your stick as quickly as possible, then climb up, pull the princess after you, and scoot."  I was left scratching my head, saying out loud, "Stick?  What stick?"  So I paged back to the beginning of the walkthrough, only to discover that I hadn't picked up a piece of my destroyed cage on the very first screen, but had instead been playing the game on "super hard mode," having to dodge around all the floaty bad guys without it.  I swore a bit and yelled about the the damned stick, all the while @Rhapsody98 is cackling, and doing her best to get air while being paralyzed by the lunacy and idiocy of my predicament.  So, I ended up going all the way back to the beginning, got the stick, then getting back to the point where I'd originally gotten stuck, got to the screen past it, saved, then forgot to go back and finish it, probably for more than a decade now, lol.

*Scribbles  note in my game journal*

"If I ever play ICO, be sure to pick up the stick."

[Gloves | 11,777]

13 minutes ago, RH said:

*Scribbles  note in my game journal*

"If I ever play ICO, be sure to pick up the stick."

It's a tad subtle, but the game DOES make a very clear reference to the stick in a cutscene, AND after the cutscene it intentionally points your camera at the stick as a sign to use it against the enemy (watch from 12:10): 

 

To be honest, I can't actually imagine how you'd go through this cutscene and NOT pick up the stick instinctively. It's not JUST a stick, it's a flaming stick, and it's presented to you in a moment where you need to defeat an enemy.

I do suggest people at least give the game a try. 

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,523]

Get the stick, get the stick, get the stick.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

4 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Get the stick, get the stick, get the stick.

I'm starting to feel persecuted here. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,523]

1 minute ago, darkchylde28 said:

I'm starting to feel persecuted here. 

It could be worse.  I was 35 hours into Elden Ring before I remembered there was an alleged horse you could summon on demand 

[RH | 4,903]

12 minutes ago, Gloves said:

It's a tad subtle, but the game DOES make a very clear reference to the stick in a cutscene, AND after the cutscene it intentionally points your camera at the stick as a sign to use it against the enemy (watch from 12:10): 

 

To be honest, I can't actually imagine how you'd go through this cutscene and NOT pick up the stick instinctively. It's not JUST a stick, it's a flaming stick, and it's presented to you in a moment where you need to defeat an enemy.

I do suggest people at least give the game a try. 

 

Well, I was amused by this whole interchange because I get it.  I am the type of player where if you indirectly lead me to do something (say, via a cutscene) I will literally try to do everything I can before I do what I'm suppose to do.  if you need a stick to play this game, they should have made it so that you couldn't even exit the first room without picking it up.  I mean, I guess if they thought they'd make the game where it was a legit "hard mode", but beatable without the stick, I could understand.  Still, you need to hint at to the user, somehow, they may want to back track for an easier path.

It's just the way I play.  If I know what I'm suppose to do, I try to do everything I can find in the middle just in case something is hidden.  In this case, it sounds like what's hidden is a much harder game.

[RH | 4,903]

Just now, Reed Rothchild said:

It could be worse.  I was 35 hours into Elden Ring before I remembered there was an alleged horse you could summon on demand 

Lol, never played the game.  Did they name it Anope... haha.  Sounds like quite a knock off.

 

[Gloves | 11,777]

3 minutes ago, RH said:

Well, I was amused by this whole interchange because I get it.  I am the type of player where if you indirectly lead me to do something (say, via a cutscene) I will literally try to do everything I can before I do what I'm suppose to do.  if you need a stick to play this game, they should have made it so that you couldn't even exit the first room without picking it up.  I mean, I guess if they thought they'd make the game where it was a legit "hard mode", but beatable without the stick, I could understand.  Still, you need to hint at to the user, somehow, they may want to back track for an easier path.

It's just the way I play.  If I know what I'm suppose to do, I try to do everything I can find in the middle just in case something is hidden.  In this case, it sounds like what's hidden is a much harder game.

The thing is, as I understand it, you don't need the stick. He just made it super hard by not doing so. He could have completed the game with the horns as far as I'm aware, albeit very tediously.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

7 minutes ago, Gloves said:

The thing is, as I understand it, you don't need the stick. He just made it super hard by not doing so. He could have completed the game with the horns as far as I'm aware, albeit very tediously.

I don't know about that, the scene that I got stuck on had like 3 or 4 of those guys in it, and I couldn't evade them all quick enough to get the princess through to the next scene.  It might have been possible sans stick, but I have a feeling it would be one of those "perfect run," world record type situations due to the fact that you can't get the girl to do anything on her own, and the bad guys would always start to get her while I was trying to get into position to move her onward.

Edit:  It's apparently possible to get past where I was unarmed, but it requires an incredible amount of luck.  Not having any luck finding anyone claiming to have completed the game unarmed, or documentation for a complete unarmed walkthrough.

Edited January 12, 2023 by darkchylde28