Colossal Misunderstandings Part 1: What Everyone Overlooks on Shadow of the Colossus
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ย. 2021
- This is part one of two on what I think of Shadow of the Colossus and how I believe it is often misunderstood. Part one focuses on an alternative look at the narrative compared to most other players and part two will focus on the fanbases' tendency to overanalyze and misinterpret the game.
Shadow of the Colossus was created and directed by Fumito Ueda and has since had a legacy not just within the medium of video games, but also one with fans that has taken a life of it's own.
For my take on the Mono becomes The Queen theory:
• The Worst Fan Theory i...
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Music used in the video:
Ico OST
Shadow of the Colossus OST
Skies of Arcadia OST
Sources:
www.glitterberri.com/shadow-o...
shmuplations.com/ueda/
www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...
www.resetera.com/threads/fumi...
kotaku.com/fumito-ueda-s-new-... - บันเทิง
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I didn't feel guilt as I progressed through the game, but I definitely felt increasingly manipulated and suspicious as the game went on, congruent with the human cruelty thing. I did not know Ueda expressedly stated he wanted to examine cruelty in the game, but I'm glad he did. One ordinarily feels more confident and assured in the gameplay mechanics as a game progresses, but the way the game unevenly distributes difficulty, even placing its least aggressive enemy towards the end was a gorgeous touch. In a lot of ways, the colossi are a distraction in the same way we can be distracted by superficial appearances as to where the worst cruelty truly comes from. We expect it to come from an easily identifiable monster when it more often comes from more familiar looking packages. Great video.
Something about experiencing the dramatic collapse of the titans over and over got me too.
Now that I live in the country, and Im around many majestic animals, and responsible for many as an adult, its just so obvious now.
I feel genuine remorse for unnecessarily felling the giants, but I have to ask myself what lengths I would go to to resurrect my wife if I could.
You tend to think you have a clear, logical, independent mind... then somebody comes with a slap in the face and points out you weren't thinking at all, and just followed online herd nonsense spewed by a fanbase, that is based more on fan fiction than the thing in the center of it all. Makes me think of the Undertale fandom as well.
I needed this slap. Thanks.
just found the channel. love this interpretation of the game. i’ve always been sympathetic to the colossus, but i think of them as alive without living. when you try to do them out of order, there’s nothing there, but when you return to their area after defeating them, it’s as if they’ve been dead for ages. it’s a surreal contradiction of perception that makes me think we’re fighting something that should not be alive to begin with and that they’re forced into life because they have to deal with wanders BS.
I will likely make an addendum in part two, but I think the Colossus are similar to golems from Hebrew folklore. They are essentially alive but they lack a soul of their own. The Colossus are alive because of the stolen power of Dormin in the first place. Without Dormin’s power, they are just earth and clay.
@@NerdDoll I think I do feel bad for the collosus now after knowing their Dormin. But really I feel bad for Dormin. Being split into 16 pieces must have been horrific.
I never thought of the colossus as automatons, but I never thought of them as alive either. Somewhere in between. I usually felt like I was destroying something beautiful, not killing something. There were exceptions like the 7th and 13th colossus. Like, the fact that the 13th can't directly harm you feels almost like a "character trait". Also, Minor note, but given the music after you beat a colossus, I think that the player was generally meant to feel some kind of negative emotion. While I agree the story is meant to be about Wander and Mono, I don't think the moral quandary about the colossus was meant to be completely ignored either.
Maybe the sad music is actually too make feel more and more sorry for wander as he gets more and more corrupted just a thought
@@kamageddynvideochannel3479 You could be right, but the deaths of the colossi are in slow-motion, which, in my opinion, makes the scenes feel like true tragedies.
Personally, I felt mixed about killing the colossi. On one hand, yes I agree that they are like automatons built for a specific purpose, but the fact you have the 11th colossus fear fire and you having to exploit that fear creates that sort of connection to them. They aren't emotionless robots. With the sixteenth colossus, the most human looking one of them all, there must have been some form of existential dread. Not only was it placed at a vantage point where it could see all its brethren being killed one after another thanks to the lights that come down from the sky, but it was unable to move due to its feet being encased in stone and all it could do was blast away at Wander and hope he didn't make it to him.
In a sense, I can't help but wonder if their very existence is a cruelty in of itself. They exist to protect a sealed portion of Dormin's soul, and they are given self preservation instincts. Thinking about it now, regarding as to why they are missing when you try to visit them out of order, part of me does like to believe that before Wander came, they probably had their own lives and patterns. But when each colossus is next to be sacrificed for the ritual, they're probably programmed to go to where you fight them and forced to remain dormant until you arrive.
Still, I also felt invested in what was going on with Wander and Mono. I could really sympathize with him wanting to bring her back and going through hell to do so. Even if it came at the cost of himself and his ability to be with her as a lover. In a way, I love the ending to Shadow of the Colossus for that reason. Would have been nice to see what the "Happily Ever After" ending would have been like in practice and can even sympathize with Ueda's feelings on the matter, but I feel the ending we got is such a more unique take on that sort of thing. Love goes beyond the carnal and sometimes things don't go exactly the way you want them to. At the end of the day though, Wander succeeded at what he wanted to do. He was able to bring back Mono, regardless of what happened to him.
ICO and The Last Guardian are also both fantastic games. The latter in particular I feel is a miracle considering how long it was trapped in development hell. Not really sure what to expect for the next game, but I would imagine that it will tackle similar themes.
Unfortunately, Team Ico was disbanded…as was SCE Japan Studio (RIP Legends)
I believe Ueda opened his own studio and is taking a backseat from active development of games now and is more of a consultant for developers, but I could be wrong. I just hope Sony never stops believing in Auteurs like Ueda and the mad lads at SCE Japan Studio (co-developers of Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, SotC/ Ico/ The Last Guardian + head developers of The Legend of Dragoon and Puppeteer)
A lot of fair points. Personally, I don't mind the outlandish theories, so long as the people who support them understand that they're not speaking facts, just well-constructed (in most cases) and well-thought out ideas. It helps to show just how much of a piece of art the game truly is when it can inspire things like "deep lore" regarding the few threads that seemingly connect it to Ico because Wander is reborn with horns, to the emotional resonance the game has with people who see a spiritual or personal understanding with the title. Ueda even seems to feel the same way, as he's famously known for having noted, and enjoyed, the theories surrounding the ending of Ico. The two most popular theories for the game's conclusion are "Ico and Yorda are both dead and the beach is a kind of afterlife allowing them to reunite" and "The beach is real, and the queen was wrong/lying about Yorda not being able to escape the castle". Ueda has gone on record to say he personally believes in the latter, but has never dismissed the former.
With that said, it is disheartening when fans push their theories like gospel. I recall a rather obnoxious one regarding Mono's relationship with Wander and Agro, and how "she doesn't really know either of them" all because she apparently doesn't react much when she sees the injured Agro arriving at the shrine just after her revival. It uses the most idiotic reasoning with things like "She should be more surprised to see her friend's horse!" and other nonsense. Even if one were to ignore or be unaware of the art book confirming that Mono was trying to call out to Wander to cease his quest to slay the colossi, it would still make the fact that she's clearly trying to communicate look really weak and out of place if she was just saying something like "I don't know who you are, but stop". Long as people can civil about their theories, that's really all I ask when it comes to discussing these titles and interpreting their vaguer aspects.
Agreed with you on Mono’s relationship to Wander. It seems pointless to have her speak in what are essentially loading screens if she doesn’t know them. SotC is very much a fable/fairy tale and animals often represent innocence, honesty, and the heart of their human companion. Agro is seen missing Mono after the defeat of the 4th Colossus and approaches her at the end. Horses are incredibly skittish and wouldn’t just approach anyone.
@@NerdDoll
Very true. There's even things like the unused song heard on the soundtrack, "Memories", which implied a possible cutscene that would have shown Wander and Mono together, ending with her sacrifice going by the striking chords heard at the song's end. Either way, it's just such an odd theory compared to the others, which at least follow some kind of logic based on what can observed in the game. And of course, there's the game's tagline during its promotion, which explicitly mentioned love. So why people would even suggest the two had no formal relationship is beyond me.
I understand the whole secret seekers thing, as a kid growing up as a gamer, games you'd play religiously you try to scour the game for anything you might have missed or secrets no one else knows yet, as someone who grew up on a lot of Pokémon especially on Gameboy and DS I must've spent thousands of hours trying to look for secret areas or legendary Pokémon that you can't get in that specific game I think it has something to do with how realistic and gripping a fake world can be and is a great indicator of what makes a great game
I'm 43 years old as of 2022. I bought and played Ico, SofC and The Last Guardian. All the "day" they were released here in Los Angeles. I've played many a game before and after and since, too many to count. But none! I repeat!!!!! NONE, have had more of an impact on my heart and soul and over all just my childhood and adolescence than this game. Thank you Fumito Ueda!! I will always fondly look back on your games in total and complete adoration. And will look forward to what you have to offer!!! Thank you, thank you!!!! Much love and respect!!!! Also, great video!!! So happy to have found it. Will now watch part two!!! Thank you as well!!!! ✌️👍
Awesome analysis and commentary! You mentioned a lot I haven't really seen on Shadow of the Colossus, especially the points on 残酷性 and how it relates to the game along with Ueda's intentions. I also feel a lot of analysis and commentary videos focus a lot around the Colossi, so it’s refreshing to hear your takes on the story as a whole and the narrative journey of Wander and Mono as well.
This "I played the demo, was caught off guard by the black energy, I need this." And I was like- "SAME!"
what made me feel truly remorseful was that Phanalax (Snake),doesn't even attack you, it just flies around. During the 'battle' it only attacked by burying itself, it didn't have a divebomb, or anything like an attack, it's anatomy was it's only defense.
Also. One cool thing was Dormin was a villain in my eyes, but for a good reason. They could of been pretty chill, but when humans feared them because they had the ability to regain one's soul to their body and then some, Emon's ancestors had split and sealed them in the colossi. Due to this, they wanted vengeance. However, they weren't fully backstabbing.
They did warn Wander of the price and he was like "I don't care."
I'm glad that we're going to get to see Ueda take another stab at telling the story that he wants to! Hearing that bit of heal at the end of the video brought me such a feeling of nostalgia... maybe it's time to revisit these games again
I’ve always felt stronger empathy for animals over people in fiction, something about the helplessness and innocence of their existence. Therefore, the creature of felt strongest to in this game was Agro. She’s a good horse who does not understand what her human is trying to do, but damn it she’s going to help him. As for the colossi, I did feel sadness at their deaths! Those cutscenes were brutal, watching them slowly slump down into the ground :(
Honestly I love your videos about sotc and ico and I watched many about those games it’s part of how I enjoy these games and your videos are in my top favorites about it, I hope you make full juicy video about the last guardian, I know there is not much as the previous games but still, I will watch it because these games deserves love and effort, can’t wait 💙
This is one of the best videos I've come across on SOTC ever since I first played the game 5 years ago. I love your approach to analysis and it really made me look at the game in a new way! PLEASE KEEP MAKING VIDEOS!!!
Totally agreed. I wish she would make a video on The Last Guardian and give her thoughts on it.
This is so eloquently put. Really appreciate the effort on bringing official material into the mix... while there is no problem in fantasizing about the ideas of the game or what it represents to us, I think that we should never lose from our sight what the creator intended.
I myself didn´t knew about the artbook and this game left a mark in me... when I killed the horse colossus I started to think that I was actually the villain and was disturbing the creatures. That a game that says so little can develop so much in our mind is a testment of how well put it is and how games are a unique medium... no book, no movie, no play could tell the story like it was told and provoke the feelings it did into people (be what it may) as this game or ico could.
Cheers, I hope you are still making videos.
Your hardwork will pay off just keep uploading
This was very interesting and I liked seeing some of the developers thoughts however I wouldn't necessarily say people are deeply misunderstanding it. More like there's intentional abstraction for people to have their own realizations/thoughts. I do agree seeing the same ones all of the time can be this kinda weird pedantic hivemind, and some assumptions that seem blatantly off, but such is the internet.
I definitely think the relationship with the colossi is actually much more interesting than getting too focused on Mono though she's pretty interesting too. And I think it's worth mentioning, while they are part of Dormin, they are 16 individual humanoid shadow forms as well. Dormin also posses multiple voices. This lends to the idea that the colossi are more than just automaton guardians. I don't see them as innocent beings exactly though. Especially as I don't see Dormin as seeming particularly innocent either.
Whether or not it's what the creators were intending or thinking, the value of exploring such ideas is very much a part of what makes SotC so good. It's the exploration, discovery, and details that really leaves such an open plane for curious people to imagine and think through.
I also really wish we got that alternate ending. Multiple alternate endings. It doesn't need them, it'd just be cool.
I wasn't born when ICO and I wasn't even a year old when SotC released for the PS2. I played it a few years ago when I found my old PS2 that was given to me on my eighth birthday and it was the first game that I truly finished, it was amazing. When hunting the colossi, I felt the adrenaline rush and as I went on I felt bad for them. I saw Wander's slowly degrading body but I didn't mind it, I was too focused on the colossi. After watching your video, it made me reflect on not only the game but myself. I sympathized with the colossi because I don't like seeing people getting hurt, I didn't mind Wander because I often push myself to do school works without sleeping for days, help even though I was sick, and I would ignore my pain if it meant that I could help my family and loved ones someday.
I love all the colossi in the game, however, I have to say that there are three that have very interesting characteristics that make them stand up from the pack.
1. Gaius is a majestic colossi. It presents power, fearlessness and determination in all his moves. However, during the fight, I feel a sense of enjoyment in his attacks, like he is playing with Wander instead of killing him. Being a sleeping giant, waking up to someone that can entertain his time, and awakened him from his slumber, created an opportunity for him to test its power.
2. Celosia: For me, this colossi is the most aggressive of the bunch, creating an cat and mouse game that is difficult to maneuver if not prepared. However, this colossi brought the central moral dilemma of the game. Do we realy need to kill these creatures? The same fire its responsible to protect is the same thing that put fear into his heart. Seeing his eyes show this fear brought down the reality that these are creatures that feel pain and show emotion, even the feel of dying. Observing this characteristic made me think on all colossi must have felt seeing there doomed fate without knowledge or reason.
3. Malus: This colossi is intense. From his enormity, to its bulk, You can feel see why this is the final colossus. Being the most human like, we can assume that it is the most intellectual gifted of all colossi, creating an interesting narrative point for the player. What makes this colossi stand out is his curiosity and knowing that death is inevitable for him, knowing full well it cannot escape it, Literally and figuratively. In the literal sense, his feet are bolted to the ground, restraining his movement, cutting down its choices of escape, if it wanted to. Figuratively, he was able to see all the Pillars of light from across the land, confirming three things, that he was the last colossi in the land, that no one was coming to aid him and that death was coming for him. If you put that into perspective, Malus can be considered the one the most tragic colossus of them all.
Can't believe I took so long to watch this video after enjoying your first one about fan theories. You present a lot of interesting points; honestly I never considered how using the fan names (which I generally haven't used for several years and I think thankfully most hardcore fans of the Shadow these days know they're unofficial) could engender more sympathy for the colossi than we're meant to have. I also like your own sympathy for Wander; the poor guy needs more people on his team.
As for my thoughts on the STILL UNANNOUNCED Game 4, well, my two main bits of speculation at this point are that the game will return to being open-world (I think Ueda, who has talked about being constrained by the limits of technology in the past, will go as far as he can with this one), and that the "beauty and the beast" from the teaser image will not appear in it, at least not in the form we saw so long ago. I think it's telling that everything we've seen since then has looked so different from that vibe that resembled the other games more.
Hope a part 2 comes out! This was amazing, brings back so many memories.
hey just wanted to say i really appreciate this video essay and the angle you took here! could not ask for more refreshing take. kind of interesting how people will latch onto a single interpretation of something rather open-ended in this case and parrot it endlessly
I felt like there could have been a prologue in where we get to explore Wander’s village before Mono was sacrificed.
Love this "essay" on SotC! Very down to earth, and actually more the feeling I also had when I played the game "back in the days", and now again. Also thank you so much for the glitterberrie info, and your insight!
The story is very simple and maybe even "shallow", but I love(d) every minute of it (exept Wander's new face, he looks like a doll..). Also, the ending was so unexpected for me and the family that was watching it with me, perfect and at first really hurtful and sad, but with time I came to love it. They ended up back together, but at the same time so far apart.
Anyhow, the colossi being like golems is also something I think, which make them more interesting that being "real". Even them I sometimes think they are gorgeous, and I hate to destroy "art", so sometimes I feel sad at the ending just because it is magical that you would have these stone giants the size of buildings just walking around. Living statues. Oh, and I like them also just being numbers. The "names" annoy me, and because I don't like them I often don't know "who" to search for when looking for tips how to beat them on hard time attack mode :p
People love to fill in the blanks. That is what humans love to do, with a "fear" for the unknown. The fact is with this game, I actually love the emptiness and the unknown. Maybe, just maybe, my love for deserted areas started with this game. Or perhaps it was something that I always loved, but found in this game.
16 colossi are enough for me. They are all "bosses", and more of them would feel like a repetition. This is good, they are good in design, and after 3 minotaurusses I have seen enough minotaurusses. And the little ones are nice as 2. It seems to be good as it is.
In the ps2 era, I used to get into the theories and secret seeking. It was all very fascinating and the game left so many questions that you had to wonder if there was something more. This made the idea that there would be some secret that gives you answers or some kind of closure very appealing.
I actually think it was nice that there was a community like the secret seekers back in the day. It was pretty harmless and certainly made me hype and excited to play the game over and over.
However, when people started hacking and datamining the game, flying through walls and actually finding things nobody had seen before, that should've been the end. After that we knew for sure there is no hidden secret to be found. But people still kept looking.
Even today, there are still people looking for some hidden meaning or secrets in the game, and it honestly is getting frustrating when every single little thing is picked apart and theorized on. People in the community rarely talk about the actual content anymore and their own interpretations of it.
However, from what I've heard, there IS allegedly one more secret hidden in the ps4 remake called the "blue point". Not much is known about it, and it's not a fan fiction, since it is confirmed that one of the devs mentioned it to Nomad Colossus who is one of the biggest names in the community and someone we can trust. It's not known if it actually made it into the game, but we do know for sure that one of the devs have said there is a blue point hidden in the game's playable map. This is just one dev's word, so he could've been wrong or just trying to spark people's interests for exploring, but I personally believe it exists. And if not, it's at least something that will keep me going back for the game. There aren't people actively looking for it anymore, but occasionally someone mentions it and looks for it. I do hope it is one day found, but the map is huge and searching for something that has no clear description is kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack. We don't even know what it is, but it is thought to be an easter egg that's the bluepoint "O" from the logo.
this video is phenomonal!! i absolutely adore the background you give, makes the video feel like a dialogue between friends
Great video, nice to see someone doing game essays who actually values citing sources and evidence. I hope part 2 comes out soon
I have personally not played shadow of the colossus, I was originally exposed to the game through watching my cousin play through it when I stayed with my uncles household during a holiday when I was a child. (I don’t remember how old but I was not yet a teenager) My appreciation for the game at the time was primarily it’s presentation. I found its art style and atmosphere to be incredibly compelling even as only an observer. The deeper themes of the narrative went over my head at the time but I certainly thought the tail tragic. This was something that rather surprised me at the time as I’d never encountered a video game with such sombre storytelling. I was mildly disturbed by the pain that seemed to be felt by the colossi as they were defeated, I didn’t necessarily question the morality of the action too much but it seems a shame that such majestic creatures had to die to complete the quest. Both I and my cousin agreed that the ending was strangely satisfying despite it being a total downer, and that the tribe’s people who came after wander were the true villains of the story. The game ended up having an impact along with several other peaces of media I experienced as a child on my aesthetic and tonal sensibilities on the art I hope to one day created, pertinently on the stories I want to write. Also your video is pretty great. Your analysis is well reasoned and presented and I think the Doll persona expressed through photography to be both inveterate and endearing. This is just some very good work over all, and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for anything else you make in the future.
Great analysis. Opens up alot more about the series.
This was great!!! You deserve way more subscribers 💕
Very good video...you should get more views. Looking forward to part 2
Oh wow. This is an incredible analysis. How the hell does this not have more views!
I’m a new channel with few subscribers. Thanks for liking the video, please like to boost it in the algorithm
Fantastic video! I hope it gets the views it deserves.
Great video!! Can't wait for part 2, as well Ueda's new game,, oh man!! I just hope his creativity shines as much as his previous games, which, I'm confident it will.
8:29 Nice, Ueda knows Lemmings, my favorite game when I was a kid
The ambiguous nature of the colossi is what makes the game beautiful.
Am I slaying the spiritual guardians of a dying land? Or am I siphoning the fuel source of automatons to channel life back into my beloved?
We will never know. And the shadow of doubt that we are in the right is the most memorable part as a player.
Aaaaaaaaaand subscribed.
It is SO refreshing to see a different take on something that felt saturated. Turns out, it was just people saying almost the same thing over and over again.
amazing video!
I never felt remorse for taking out the colossi either. I've always felt Mono wasn't actually dead but in some sort of coma-like state. I always refer to the colossi by their number. I guess getting the Crested Agro with an "ICO" save file wasn't considered unfair. Love all 3 games by Fumito Ueda as well as the games by Kenji Eno. Got S.O.T.C. for PS2 on day 1 & was on the game from sunset to sunrise. Nice analysis & looking forward to part 2.
I think because the Ico crest on Agro is purely cosmetic and affects nothing it was fine. It’s not like depriving a large portion of players an entire ending
You’re pathet1c
It took a few playthroughs to start pitying the colossi, because, at first, the shear sheer granduer of spectacle and enthralling game play were kind of like a sun that covered over the flashlight of my more nuanced emotions. Ultimately, though, the crying out of the colossi when they are harmed seems pretty proof positive that they are feeling entities, even if they exist mostly in a state of unconsciousness.
Shocked that you don’t have 100k+ subs. I’m looking forward to part 2 if you’re still working on it
I am, imma slow 🐢
one thing i always felt was interesting is that with the first few collosi, i felt a little bad, but by the end i was happy to kill the final collosi, which made the ending hit so much harder
As much as it might be mean, I don't care that much what Ueda intended during development. Once you put a product out there, either your intentions come across or they don't and that's something you have to deal with. The game truly belongs to its fans now and Ueda's ability to craft a product that fosters the strong connection we see in this fanbase is much more revolutionary than the "beauty and the beast" concept he had going.
I think this connection comes mainly from the way the story is told, with particular emphasis on the use of mechanics for storytelling purposes. Things like giving the player the option either to struggle to the end or accept their fate as they are pulled into the pool, the way you relate to Agro as a companion rather than a vehicle, and even having to constantly hold the grip button create a strong sense of agency and discovery even within the structured narrative. Modern games could learn a lot from such simple techniques that leave players so bonded to a game. This player involvement is also what encourages people to analyze the game and build their own mythology around it and the intentional vagueness of the narrative leaves plenty of room for this type of engagement.
Honestly, it makes me think less of Ueda as a creator if there is some original narrative he's clinging to. The magic of this game is the meaning that a player breathes into it as they play. It's a collaboration that most creators never achieve.
I half agree with this. To be fair, I am speculating on why Ueda is dissatisfied with the game. All creators who truly care about their creations admit to being dissatisfied with their works for various reasons. Ueda has had not just one, but two chances to add back the cut Colossis and ending he wishes he did but didn’t. They did legitimately think about adding in some of the cut Colossus in the PS3 remaster but decided against it. With the exception of the Sword of Dormin side quest, everything is the same between all versions of the game. I’m kinda annoyed with that quest for reasons mentioned in the video, but I think keeping the game largely the same is the best option.
To say something belongs to the fans though…well that sort of mentality bothers me. There is a lot of room for interpretation in SotC, intentionally so as Ueda likes to have his fans use their imaginations to fill in some of the narrative, and I truly don’t want to get in the way of peoples own personal connection with the game. But this game was made for Japanese audiences and Ueda is Japanese and does incorporate a Japanese sensibility in his game design that is unfortunately misunderstood by the Western fan base. There is plenty of room for multicultural thoughts on the game, but you can’t do complete Death of the Author with a foreign work.
this is my new favorite channel. :) As for what i hope of the new game from Ueda... hmm, he's always been a bit Kojima-esque in doing well with making something all his own, and a new experience for gamers... so I want him to do just that, something new that only he could cook up. :D
Refreshing take that deserves much more attention
Amazing analysis, when I first played the game for the first time in 2021 blind my initial interpretation of the story was it was ambiguous, to say the least.
The colossi were clearly not natural creatures, many of their body parts are like walkways (the first colossus has literal platforms on his back) and were clearly man-made structures yet they aren't machines that don't bleed or feel pain and the very obvious sad music that plays when you off a colossus and have to watch its lifeless husk of a body collapse is clearly meant to invoke some sense of remorse for killing what little life that remains in the land.
When it comes to the widely accepted idea that you and wander were the bad guys all along and were doing the bidding of a sealed away demon for selfish reasons, I didn't buy that. As I said before my take was that the game was ambiguous and many things are just never stated.
Why was dormin sealed in a cruel way, what did it do? Was dormin really just a spawn of evil, Dormin never lied to wander, it actually honored their agreement and revived mono even when things didn't go its way, also why is it that when mono goes to the top of the castle where dormin's voice resides do we see a lush and lively garden where we see the first-ever deer and as well as other small animals. Why is Emon seen as good when he is probably responsible for unjustly "killing" a young girl because of some accursed fate.
All these questions made me think that the main point is that no one was right or wrong in the end, just doing what each one believed was best for someone else, wander thought breaking the rule of his people, and going to the forbidden land, not for his sake but for the sake of mono, and emon and his ancestors, the people who sealed dormin saw it as an unnatural force that would corrupt humanity, you know the with greed for immortality and manipulating death and whatnot.
I really like your take on the game and how it tackles cruelty, and using Fueda's interview from Japanese publications for ur video, ill agree so many other essays seem to focus too much on the colossus and not enough on the actual story and any themes presented tho I can't really blame them too much. Anyway hope the 2nd part comes soon, Good luck.
It’s an interesting take that it’s another tale of beauty and the beast. Ueda though said in an interview that his inspiration for shadow of the colossus was movie trailers. And even said that he didn’t plan a main theme or motif. It was meant for interpretation just like a movie trailer. The thing is that when he created the game he didn’t treat it like being an author or film writer. He approached it like a designer. A story writer creates sentences from any words they want, but to design a story is like a cross word puzzle. You let the world build itself and that is why the first thing they built was the game mechanics and not the world or story. He leaned heavily on Taoism believes so that is why he went with the flow when creating this word and only chose some elements to guide the creation. The rest naturally happens. So in the end there really isn’t a solid theme for the game. Although he did confirm that all his games are connected so there is a narrative to follow, but a narrative with no clear theme. It’s much like real life. It’s not like the word we live in was set a theme or motif, rather we choose what themes and motifs to see. That is why his game is so special because it can be viewed from so manny perspectives. The difference between a game and any other tool of story telling is that you choose how to interact with the world. In other words you chose how to view the story. Some games even to this day though chooses to treat video games as books or films which is why they lean heavily on cinematic scenes to force a certain story and theme. Ueda though is one of the phew to correctly tell a story through a video game.
th-cam.com/video/G2svF-fV4VU/w-d-xo.html this the interview were he confirms that ICO and shadow of the colossus are straight up connected thus there being a narrative to follow. However, the theme like I said is for interpretation and was picked any in mind by Ueda. He in fact avoided to use any themes. Themes you notice is purely from your imagination
th-cam.com/video/Ise08Qoaf1Y/w-d-xo.html go to 53:40 and there is my other source
Icos' horn hidden slightly to the left on top of a pillar in dornins chamber says allot for me personally.
good video, I also enjoy the representation with the doll, very clever
every generation will be talking about SotC till the end of technology itself
Hey Nerd Doll, this was a very good video, thanks for making it
Have you ever heard of Peter Eliot's or Crumplecorn's analyses of Team Ico's games?
Glad to see you mention the character models between the games. The Bluepoint remaster looks great in every way, save the characters. They look like weird anime characters, and Wanderer's face is robbed of many of its expressions in cutscenes that were in the original version. I don't like the changes to Dormin's voice either.
this is one of the most sober and smart takes on this game. loved it.
Just learned something new about this game... Elvis I love it
cool video!
This was a breath of fresh air! Finally, a perspective that aligns more with the gut feelings that I had back when I first played the game over a decade ago. I think I first heard about the game through Toonami, of all places. Your story about playing the demo and becoming enthralled with it really brought me back. I had a similar experience. When my sibling and I finally did get the game, I was utterly entranced by the gorgeous visuals, and the beautifully constructed dynamic procedural character motions for things like hanging on, walking on stairs, firing the bow on horseback, etc. (a facet of the game that doesn't get nearly enough praise!) I would beg for my turn with the controller, and when I finally got it, I would spend hours and hours just exploring the game environment, which annoyed my sibling because they found it boring to watch me just wander around! (no pun intended)
I always saw Dormin as a strictly neutral character in the story. Not really a good guy or a bad guy per se, just a being with its own motives outside of humanity, that could help or harm depending on the circumstances. Always kinda bugged me seeing people refer to Dormin as evil. I really appreciate you clearing the air and providing insight from developer sources on the game's story as well, great stuff.
This is a really good channel and love the Barbie 😂
I went to Glitter Berri's blog to read their translation of the artbook but couldn't find anything there. I don't know if this is because I entered with a mobile or they simply deleted the posts.
This is my favorite video game since 2014 when i finished it for the first time. Undertale happened and shared the place but every once in a while i look back and think this is the best game ever.
And this video was amazing
Honesty the only reason I call the colossi by fan names is cause I can never remember the order after the third. I love the idea that each colossi represents an aspect of Dorman, especially for phalanx, the only one never to attack, the only kindness left in this forgotten god
I don't think Dormin is totally unkind even near the end he was implied to save Aggro
Can you type out the word in romanji that you're saying at 26:53? It's the appeal to tradition fallacy but I'd love to understand more from a Japanese perspective but can't find it through Google ☹️.
I kinda like the theory that mono becomes the evil queen from ico. Seems like a cool way to tie the games together.
20:58 Wow
I totally agree with you. 👍🏻
But the first colossus for example, is already moving before he detects wander....
I guess I felt bad for “killing” the colossus, but it was more like the feeling you get when a something great is ruined.
They’re both majestic towering mountains, and building combined. Something that huge and magical has value imo
Great video. The plural of colossus is colossi btw
I thought the colossus were jails for Dormin?
OMG your video just gave me a huge revelation about Ueda's games all his games have a message of following tradition sometimes times just leads to a continuous bad cycle. ICO villagers try to sacrifice kid with horns kid survives instead defeats Queen queen cycle of sacrifice is broken Shadow of The Collouses following tradition leads too the exact thing that is trying to be avoided The Last Guardian Boy is suposed to be sacrificed to the Master by Trico lightning bolt breaks Trico's mind control boy and Trico become freinds rather then enimes Master is defeated cycle of sacrifice is broken. In short his games are about not following rules. Shadow of the Collouses is about the cruelty of tradition or religion where as ICO and The Last Guardian or about breaking the cycle of Tradition
Yes
Correct me if I'm wrong since it's been a few years but, as far as I know it was never stated that Wander and Mono where lovers. The original box art just refered to her as "girl".
Fumito ueda stated during a early interview that it’s a love story
The doll feels a little creepy every once in a while. Sorry.
Lol it’s okay
This game made me hate star wars even more. This world that ueda created feel so original and new to me. It's like watching somebody in another dimension. Thanks to the original language that they have created. The immersion level is unreal.
Imagine watching something from galaxy far far away yet they are speaking english. The immersion have been broken
The gaints were made unlike wander and mono
Played this game day 1 of its release. Why? Because I played Ico day 1 and was huge fan.
I only felt remorse after killing 13 aka Phalanx.
It's also my favorite colossus.
People being able to live in 3 million dollar mansions just for reacting and playing videogames really says a lot about society. This is the true cruelty Fumito Ueda was trying to convey.
Welcome to the new form of entertainment. I’m on Hasan’s side in the debate. I also know a $3 mil home in LA is not a mansion. A lot of small, kinda rundown homes are about $1 mil here because of how high the property value is here
@@NerdDoll I have no idea who Hassan is and my comment was not supposed to be taken seriously. I loved your video BTW.
@@Doodoovessel it’s all good 👍🏻
Where part 2?
I’m still writing it, got distracted by Elden Ring
The game is so interesting and fun to think about. Its always been fascinating to me but ive never beaten it 😂... Its so boring imo, but thematically is great
Nasykaya 😭😭😭
Playing SoC I found myself coming to hate it because of how little “guidance” it gives, how little story the game provides and don’t get me started on the controls. Everything else I loved the fights, scenery and non-crowdedness. After seeing this it’s given me a new look.
I find with eastern games more so than with western. I think seeing the thoughts and ideas behind a game is almost integral to gaining understanding or appreciation a work to the fullest. Translation is (obviously) one of the hardest things to get around. But once you get around that it unlocks a whole new world of insight into the game.
Genuinely this video turned my dislike for this game into appreciation.
Thank you
Ueda has always professed to liking to leave his stuff vague so you sure are quick to tell everyone how wrong they are lol. All the videos I've watched are always speculation, never seen anyone online telling everyone they're wrong. Just people expressing what they got out of it.
And if this was his intent as you stated, he should have stopped being vague and stuck some cutscenes for Mono in between each Colossi. But he didn't so its his fault really if he's unsatisfied. But he's also an artist, and we're never truly satisfied with a piece no matter how well its received.
This game is known for open interpretation. Just let people have their own theories/headcanon especially when they're civil and minding their own business. Trying to put them down is stupid.
Not at all what I’m doing