Quick correction: Mono's name is not written in kanji and the characters you displayed are actually katakana which is specifically for loan words and foreign pronouns. While it doesn't at all invalidate the similarity to the word "object/thing/etc." in Japanese I thought it'd be important to distinguish since it also could be complete coincidence. The actual kanji you meant looks like this: 物
Probably a useless detail, but Wander's weapon of choice appears to be his bow. His precision and the stance he adopts while using it are pretty impressive. Wherever he comes from, I assume he's a well-known archer there. On the other hand, the way he swings the Ancient Sword tells me he's not used to that kind of weapon: not only are his strokes too broad with a lot of wasted movement, but it seems that he lets the sword's weight do all the work instead of putting some strength into it. The way he handles the recoil after hitting a durable object can also be an indication of that.
I've always liked the explanation I've come up to explain why so many, including myself, adore Shadow of the Colossus: "The level on which you will like Shadow of the Colossus all depends on how much you think about it after finishing it for the first time."
Your quote about the fruit at 07:09 was referring to the 'forbidden fruit' in the secret garden, not the fruit you find in the forbidden lands! This fruit will increase Wander's health, however the fruit in the secret garden (atop the Shrine of Worship) will decrease Wander's heath and grip.
I omitted some of the quote because it wasn't relevant to my argument, however the full quote by Fumito Ueda states: "The fruit in the ancient land was set to get you closer to non-human existence. The (secret garden's) fruit was set to return you to a human one" He specifically states the the fruit in the secret garden was intended to make Wander revert back to a human state, while the fruit scattered across the forbidden lands were intended to make him less human. My argument in the video is that because of what Fumito Ueda said, that it's possible that because of Dormin's influence, that he has "tainted" the land and that he is the reason why eating the fruit gets you closer to a "non-human existence" . By the why, love your videos, I've been watching them for many years!
I love this game, this feeling it all gave me when I played it. And I've gotten to enjoy all these great analysis videos. This is easily one of my favorites. The music had such an effect on me and still does to this day.
Hello everyone! Thanks for watching the video! I've made it a bit of a trend to give some behind the scenes info with these pinned messages, so no reason to stop now right? This is an idea I had kicking around earlier in the year, I want to say around March but didn't start working on it until a month or two ago. While working on this, the part where I mention that Wander doesn't react to the first Colossus was a memory that was pretty much seared into my mind and I wrote it without feeling the need to "fact-check it" so to speak. It wasn't until I was replaying the PS4 remake for footage when I stopped in my tracks, saw him react and started to question whether I was going crazy or not and if I had to re-write a huge section of the script. Luckily I still have the PS3 remaster which is basically the PS2 version upscaled to 1080p and I was reassured that my memory had not failed me and that it was simply a creative liberty on Bluepoint's part, thus my argument remained intact. If you have any questions feel free to ask me!
Shadow of the Colossus is easily one of my favorite games, and it blows my mind how it can still be analyzed in different perspectives to this day. One of the deepest, most memorable games I've ever experienced and it'll stick with me for the rest of my life
What a brilliant retelling of this story. So much of the symbolism and subtlety is lost until analytical reviewers like ur self come along and shed light on it.
Wonderful analysis of the game. I love Shadow of the Colossus precisely for how deep the game can go when you really want to dig into it. It's truly a work of art.
HOLY SHIT THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT VIDEO. I learned a few things myself especially about the kanji. As always you're killing it with the analytical videos. Well written, and your voice is soothing af. I look forward to your next analysis! And welcome back to YT buddy!
Thank you so much for the kind words! If all goes well, the next video will be about Berserk and it's theme of free will vs determinism, which I am sure you'll enjoy. =)
Really great analysis, I loved your take on this classic game! I've watched a lot of videos on this game, but I've never seen anyone go so in depth into the theme of Wander's obsession, it really made me think!!
This video made it all click in my head! Obsession makes the most sense! I know it’s a stretch but I mean the emptiness of the world and the only life are the colossus, AKA your goals. When you are obsessed with something, you don’t see the world like everyone else. If you are not taking the next step towards your obsession/goal, it’s meaningless/ empty; just another wave in the ocean of life. Nothing matters but your goals/obsessions. You see nothing, you remember nothing, you forget everything except your next step to your goal. The game best represents that. You’re on your way to a boss but there’s a road there. You are aware of the distance, but you move forward. Though you see the world and experience it on the way it’s so lonely yet comforting. The only time you stop Is when you find something that benefits you. Be it the prayer stone, lizard or apples…As a gamer and a musician it makes the most sense why this game stuck with me the most. It’s so relatable. It’s your journey. None else’s. Yours and yours alone. And the fandom looking for all the secrets, obsessing with the game beyond it own existence…it’s almost poetic. Great video my dude. 🤘
Thank you for the praise! I am cooking up a new podcast, so hopefully I will have more frequent content along with these types of videos and not have 4 months go by without anything in-between.
I am not really into any action games, just the odd horror, metroidvania platformers, visual novels and JRPGs/WRPGs. I just clicked on this video because I did not remember subscribing to "Daniel Santos". Good to see you making another video, Shintai or Dan.
12:21 What makes you feel Mono doesn't seem to recognize Agro? I'm open to the alternate theory of Wander & Mono's relationship, but I honestly don't see what part of this scene would make someone feel that.
At least to me, she doesn't react to Agro in a way that indicates she's familiar with her, she looks at Agro as if she was just some horse that happened to be there. I feel that had it been a horse she recognized, there would be a look of shock on her face or she would run up to the horse in delight because of that familiarity and because she would then know that the owner would be nearby. Instead we get the very passive and timid response we see in-game which leads me to think it was the first time she had ever seen the horse before.
What if the thing you become as you give up to your obsessions is actually your personal potential and you're only living up to it whether it's considered good or not?
It's also worth noting, despite Wander's clear skills with a bow and equestrianism, his skills with a sword are far less pronounced. He swings it very clumsily, taking wide, strength focused motions rather than a more refined ie trained approach. Argo is also an unusually large horse for a man of his stature, further suggesting that he was unlikely to be a soldier. Perhaps, it seems, he was more of a stableboy, who helped rear and train Argo for use later in the nation's armed forces. Whilst his skills with a bow were possibly refined as part of this potential training regimen. Also also, none of these ideas come from me. They're all things I've read from other people. But I do think it carries a lot of weight behind it
The theory crafting wasn't meant to be taken too much to heart, it was mostly to illustrate how the material presents enough about its world to draw interesting conclusions from
My best quote describing this game for me is : The road to hell is full of good intention also i view the Dormin wander skin as the true completion bonus and with the 79 tokken reward after ave explore every cranny of the forbiden land Wander ? dormin retreave his/her sword Dormin is the God/godess of the Forbiden land and wander is fully posess by dormin and even wield his/her sword Also i think more than Mono is wander sister because i find them to REALLY look alike mostly the hair
Somehow, when you said "Let It Go" towards the end there, I immediately thought of Elsa from Frozen. Then, I started singing it in my head. What have you done. Jokes aside, this is a great piece on the magic of the game, and certainly, the player's insistence to continue on their doomed journey is no different than the original Bioshock, which came much later. Great video, as always!
all in all pretty good, but the Nietzsche quote kinda misses the point here. As you say wander great sense of self-awareness and he still dose not hesitate to fulfill Dormin's request despite that he knows what will happen to him. Even the change to himself dose not phase him. It's save to assume that he dose not care becoming a monster as long as his part of the bargain is kept. Yet the quote of Nietzsche is a reminder to be aware of your actions, that by going to far or embracing the tactics of he enemy, by justifying the means thru the ends, that we might turn into a greater enemy to us or our cause. This has little to do with what you actually describe here, and is not really applicable. But I don't blame you, the quote loses a bit of it's meaning then translated into English... and if you leave out the abyss part.
The main purpose of bringing up the Nietzsche quote was to get across how Wander's obsession is consuming him to the point where he loses all humanity and becomes the very thing he was fighting in order to achieve his goals. I knew that leaving out the part about the abyss meant that some meaning of the quote was lost, but I felt it would've needlessly detracted from the point I was trying to make.
@@matthewlugo2417 I don't have anything planned right now, but more likely than not it would be something similar to this video, where I tackle a topic or a theme and analyze it.
@@matthewlugo2417 Personally I find more value in these types of videos because a review is just meant to convince people to buy something or not, which is fine, but I prefer doing these analysis because it helps people deepen their appreciation for something.
Interesting, but I don't agree. I think the game is about the agricultural revolution and mankind destroying the old gods and the spiritual world to create the monotheist world and enslave the nature, all to make a better living for his loved ones. Afterall, Wander is destroying multiple idols to revive mono (which can be taken for monotheism).
I find it odd that you "disagree" when neither my interpretation, or yours actually contradict each other in any way and can both be valid ways to view the work.
@@DanielSantosAnalysis True, they are not contradictory, but I also don't think the hero is obsessed, hence the disagreement. While playing the game, I had a nagging feeling that the hero's determination was born out of a conviction that there is no other way, that everything he was doing had to be done. As if a terrible experience had brought him to an unshakeable epiphany. The difference is, when it comes to obsession, the fault lies within the person. But in my interpretation, his actions were a natural reaction to his predicament. I am not saying I am right and you are wrong; the story is too vague to settle for a single interpretation unless the creator comes out with an explanation. But if my polytheism into monotheism interpretation is correct, and your obsession interpretation is also correct, then it means that the game believes that, at least, a big chunk of historical trends have occurred because of mankind's obsession, and not because of genuine necessity.
my first video from Santos since I subscribed! Looking back at previous videos, I may have subscribed due to his video "What is a Visual Novel?" or whatever :)
@@DanielSantosAnalysis well its the only video of yours that had the red line at the bottom of the thumbnail, I think a friend of mine didn't know what a Visual Novel was so I looked up a video that I could link to for them to watch.
also, this is a bit of a video idea, but do you think you could do a video on A Bird Story? that game is a bit of a mindfuck and uses alot of symbolism that I never really managed to wrap my head around what was going on when playing it. Video like this would work for the Hotline Miami series(primarily 2).
Quick correction: Mono's name is not written in kanji and the characters you displayed are actually katakana which is specifically for loan words and foreign pronouns. While it doesn't at all invalidate the similarity to the word "object/thing/etc." in Japanese I thought it'd be important to distinguish since it also could be complete coincidence. The actual kanji you meant looks like this: 物
Thank you for the correction!
Good correction
Probably a useless detail, but Wander's weapon of choice appears to be his bow. His precision and the stance he adopts while using it are pretty impressive. Wherever he comes from, I assume he's a well-known archer there. On the other hand, the way he swings the Ancient Sword tells me he's not used to that kind of weapon: not only are his strokes too broad with a lot of wasted movement, but it seems that he lets the sword's weight do all the work instead of putting some strength into it. The way he handles the recoil after hitting a durable object can also be an indication of that.
It's something I've noticed aswell, It might either be that the sword is too heavy for him to use normally, or he isn't a skilled swordsman.
I've always liked the explanation I've come up to explain why so many, including myself, adore Shadow of the Colossus:
"The level on which you will like Shadow of the Colossus all depends on how much you think about it after finishing it for the first time."
I beat it back when it initially released, I was in high school at the time and I'm still talking about it.
Obsession can really drive someone to madness. This game really nailed that.
Your quote about the fruit at 07:09 was referring to the 'forbidden fruit' in the secret garden, not the fruit you find in the forbidden lands! This fruit will increase Wander's health, however the fruit in the secret garden (atop the Shrine of Worship) will decrease Wander's heath and grip.
I omitted some of the quote because it wasn't relevant to my argument, however the full quote by Fumito Ueda states:
"The fruit in the ancient land was set to get you closer to non-human existence. The (secret garden's) fruit was set to return you to a human one"
He specifically states the the fruit in the secret garden was intended to make Wander revert back to a human state, while the fruit scattered across the forbidden lands were intended to make him less human. My argument in the video is that because of what Fumito Ueda said, that it's possible that because of Dormin's influence, that he has "tainted" the land and that he is the reason why eating the fruit gets you closer to a "non-human existence" .
By the why, love your videos, I've been watching them for many years!
I love this game, this feeling it all gave me when I played it. And I've gotten to enjoy all these great analysis videos. This is easily one of my favorites. The music had such an effect on me and still does to this day.
Hello everyone! Thanks for watching the video! I've made it a bit of a trend to give some behind the scenes info with these pinned messages, so no reason to stop now right? This is an idea I had kicking around earlier in the year, I want to say around March but didn't start working on it until a month or two ago. While working on this, the part where I mention that Wander doesn't react to the first Colossus was a memory that was pretty much seared into my mind and I wrote it without feeling the need to "fact-check it" so to speak. It wasn't until I was replaying the PS4 remake for footage when I stopped in my tracks, saw him react and started to question whether I was going crazy or not and if I had to re-write a huge section of the script. Luckily I still have the PS3 remaster which is basically the PS2 version upscaled to 1080p and I was reassured that my memory had not failed me and that it was simply a creative liberty on Bluepoint's part, thus my argument remained intact. If you have any questions feel free to ask me!
Shadow of the Colossus is easily one of my favorite games, and it blows my mind how it can still be analyzed in different perspectives to this day. One of the deepest, most memorable games I've ever experienced and it'll stick with me for the rest of my life
Such a powerful video, thank you so much for this!
What a brilliant retelling of this story. So much of the symbolism and subtlety is lost until analytical reviewers like ur self come along and shed light on it.
Thank you! I am glad you got something out of it. =)
Wonderful analysis of the game. I love Shadow of the Colossus precisely for how deep the game can go when you really want to dig into it. It's truly a work of art.
HOLY SHIT THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT VIDEO.
I learned a few things myself especially about the kanji. As always you're killing it with the analytical videos. Well written, and your voice is soothing af.
I look forward to your next analysis! And welcome back to YT buddy!
Thank you so much for the kind words!
If all goes well, the next video will be about Berserk and it's theme of free will vs determinism, which I am sure you'll enjoy. =)
@@DanielSantosAnalysis I am ready!!!
Really great analysis, I loved your take on this classic game! I've watched a lot of videos on this game, but I've never seen anyone go so in depth into the theme of Wander's obsession, it really made me think!!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
This video made it all click in my head! Obsession makes the most sense!
I know it’s a stretch but I mean the emptiness of the world and the only life are the colossus, AKA your goals.
When you are obsessed with something, you don’t see the world like everyone else.
If you are not taking the next step towards your obsession/goal, it’s meaningless/ empty; just another wave in the ocean of life.
Nothing matters but your goals/obsessions. You see nothing, you remember nothing, you forget everything except your next step to your goal.
The game best represents that.
You’re on your way to a boss but there’s a road there. You are aware of the distance, but you move forward. Though you see the world and experience it on the way it’s so lonely yet comforting. The only time you stop Is when you find something that benefits you. Be it the prayer stone, lizard or apples…As a gamer and a musician it makes the most sense why this game stuck with me the most. It’s so relatable. It’s your journey. None else’s. Yours and yours alone.
And the fandom looking for all the secrets, obsessing with the game beyond it own existence…it’s almost poetic.
Great video my dude. 🤘
Great to have you back on the TH-cams, my dood! This is top class stuff
Thank you for the praise!
I am cooking up a new podcast, so hopefully I will have more frequent content along with these types of videos and not have 4 months go by without anything in-between.
Must’ve taken hours to write that script, well done. Also Nice choice for an outro song! :)
Obsession is a hell of a cologne
I am not really into any action games, just the odd horror, metroidvania platformers, visual novels and JRPGs/WRPGs. I just clicked on this video because I did not remember subscribing to "Daniel Santos". Good to see you making another video, Shintai or Dan.
Hah, yeah I am trying to move away from the Shintai moniker and just use my real name instead.
Really enjoyed the video. Excellent job! I love this game, truly epic.
12:21 What makes you feel Mono doesn't seem to recognize Agro? I'm open to the alternate theory of Wander & Mono's relationship, but I honestly don't see what part of this scene would make someone feel that.
At least to me, she doesn't react to Agro in a way that indicates she's familiar with her, she looks at Agro as if she was just some horse that happened to be there. I feel that had it been a horse she recognized, there would be a look of shock on her face or she would run up to the horse in delight because of that familiarity and because she would then know that the owner would be nearby. Instead we get the very passive and timid response we see in-game which leads me to think it was the first time she had ever seen the horse before.
What if the thing you become as you give up to your obsessions is actually your personal potential and you're only living up to it whether it's considered good or not?
Man felt like forever since your last video, know I'll enjoy this one!
It's also worth noting, despite Wander's clear skills with a bow and equestrianism, his skills with a sword are far less pronounced. He swings it very clumsily, taking wide, strength focused motions rather than a more refined ie trained approach. Argo is also an unusually large horse for a man of his stature, further suggesting that he was unlikely to be a soldier. Perhaps, it seems, he was more of a stableboy, who helped rear and train Argo for use later in the nation's armed forces. Whilst his skills with a bow were possibly refined as part of this potential training regimen.
Also also, none of these ideas come from me. They're all things I've read from other people. But I do think it carries a lot of weight behind it
The theory crafting wasn't meant to be taken too much to heart, it was mostly to illustrate how the material presents enough about its world to draw interesting conclusions from
Exactly! That's why I love Ueda's games so much. He pretty much said "if you think that's what it means, then that's what it means"
My best quote describing this game for me is : The road to hell is full of good intention also i view the Dormin wander skin as the true completion bonus and with the 79 tokken reward after ave explore every cranny of the forbiden land Wander ? dormin retreave his/her sword Dormin is the God/godess of the Forbiden land and wander is fully posess by dormin and even wield his/her sword
Also i think more than Mono is wander sister because i find them to REALLY look alike mostly the hair
i wound like to know what happens if wonder dies before killing all the colossus.
Somehow, when you said "Let It Go" towards the end there, I immediately thought of Elsa from Frozen. Then, I started singing it in my head. What have you done.
Jokes aside, this is a great piece on the magic of the game, and certainly, the player's insistence to continue on their doomed journey is no different than the original Bioshock, which came much later. Great video, as always!
Absolutely a philosophy story
Never played Shadow of The Colossus but this was still an interesting & solid video.
Hopefully you decide to play it sometime, it's one of my favorite games.
all in all pretty good, but the Nietzsche quote kinda misses the point here. As you say wander great sense of self-awareness and he still dose not hesitate to fulfill Dormin's request despite that he knows what will happen to him. Even the change to himself dose not phase him. It's save to assume that he dose not care becoming a monster as long as his part of the bargain is kept. Yet the quote of Nietzsche is a reminder to be aware of your actions, that by going to far or embracing the tactics of he enemy, by justifying the means thru the ends, that we might turn into a greater enemy to us or our cause. This has little to do with what you actually describe here, and is not really applicable. But I don't blame you, the quote loses a bit of it's meaning then translated into English... and if you leave out the abyss part.
The main purpose of bringing up the Nietzsche quote was to get across how Wander's obsession is consuming him to the point where he loses all humanity and becomes the very thing he was fighting in order to achieve his goals. I knew that leaving out the part about the abyss meant that some meaning of the quote was lost, but I felt it would've needlessly detracted from the point I was trying to make.
fair, just thought I bring it up. Nietzsche quotes are tempting
4:43 lol it still plays like ps2
So basically Wander is Arthas from Warcraft 3
Sounds like Arthas also had a problem with learning when to let go.
Indeed he did. Just swap Resurrecting Mono with saving/avenging his people (he is a prince)
Nice to see you back man, did you complete nier automata? I want to know what you think about man
Yes I have and I thought it was great!
@@DanielSantosAnalysis awesome awesome are we gonna get a review from you? Whether its spoiler filled or not
@@matthewlugo2417 I don't have anything planned right now, but more likely than not it would be something similar to this video, where I tackle a topic or a theme and analyze it.
@@DanielSantosAnalysis sounds good enough to me i mean we need more nier appreciation videos, game needs to be be played by every gamer lol
@@matthewlugo2417 Personally I find more value in these types of videos because a review is just meant to convince people to buy something or not, which is fine, but I prefer doing these analysis because it helps people deepen their appreciation for something.
Great video!👍
Thank you!
why'd you change your name? just noticed
Since I started taking the channel in a different direction, I felt a name change was appropriate.
neat
Interesting, but I don't agree. I think the game is about the agricultural revolution and mankind destroying the old gods and the spiritual world to create the monotheist world and enslave the nature, all to make a better living for his loved ones. Afterall, Wander is destroying multiple idols to revive mono (which can be taken for monotheism).
I find it odd that you "disagree" when neither my interpretation, or yours actually contradict each other in any way and can both be valid ways to view the work.
@@DanielSantosAnalysis True, they are not contradictory, but I also don't think the hero is obsessed, hence the disagreement. While playing the game, I had a nagging feeling that the hero's determination was born out of a conviction that there is no other way, that everything he was doing had to be done. As if a terrible experience had brought him to an unshakeable epiphany. The difference is, when it comes to obsession, the fault lies within the person. But in my interpretation, his actions were a natural reaction to his predicament. I am not saying I am right and you are wrong; the story is too vague to settle for a single interpretation unless the creator comes out with an explanation. But if my polytheism into monotheism interpretation is correct, and your obsession interpretation is also correct, then it means that the game believes that, at least, a big chunk of historical trends have occurred because of mankind's obsession, and not because of genuine necessity.
Fair enough
Finding meaning in your channel ohhh shit that was savage
Um, considering I frame "finding meaning" as a positive endeavor in the video, your comment doesn't make much sense fam. Try again, you'll get there.
Do you honesty think I’m gonna watch a boring 40 minute video no thanks
Uh, how can you know if it's boring if you don't watch it? Also, it's only 16 minutes long ya doofus.
my first video from Santos since I subscribed! Looking back at previous videos, I may have subscribed due to his video "What is a Visual Novel?" or whatever :)
That's a pretty old video!
@@DanielSantosAnalysis well its the only video of yours that had the red line at the bottom of the thumbnail, I think a friend of mine didn't know what a Visual Novel was so I looked up a video that I could link to for them to watch.
also, this is a bit of a video idea, but do you think you could do a video on A Bird Story? that game is a bit of a mindfuck and uses alot of symbolism that I never really managed to wrap my head around what was going on when playing it. Video like this would work for the Hotline Miami series(primarily 2).
@@dynastystar5515 I am not familiar with A Bird Story and I haven't played the Hotline Miami games, but I'll keep them in mind.
@@DanielSantosAnalysis are you familiar with To The Moon though?