If you enjoyed the video, please consider sharing it with other people that you think would be interested. It would help out a lot What are some of your favorite games that aren’t always “fun”?
yo, jack, its mooni, hope your college works going good, you should stream when you have the time feels like I'm just chilling with you when you do, if you don't then I will. this is a warning. *moonwalks back to England*
I have some significant complaints about TLG, but it's one of my favorite games regardless, for two reasons: 1. It leans into the strengths of the medium to do something unique and moving. 2. It doesn't compromise on its vision, even when it will obviously push many players away. You explained this well. The Last of Us was the perfect counterexample - it wants to be deeper than most games but doesn't fully commit on either of these points.
This is my favorite game by this studio because of how uniquely it conveys the journey of the player. The typical approach to showing player growth is rather obvious. In games like RPGs, your growth is shown literally through your increased levels and how much easier older fights are the stronger you get. In games like platformers, your growth is shown through you tackling tough platforming challenges in the endgame when at the beginning you struggled with the simple things. But in The Last Guardian, it is the frustration you can feel earlier on in the game before you've formed a bond with Trico that conveys the most unique and yet most satisfying sense of growth I've experienced in a video game. Without that initial frustration, you wouldn't be able to appreciate the later moments of the game where Trico immediately listens to what you say. Or better yet, when Trico knows on his own what to do in a puzzle because you've been through similar things before. Whereas in the beginning I'd have to repeatedly keep telling Trico to jump to the next area and sometimes call him back to me because he got distracted and went somewhere else, by the end I can almost sit back while Trico clears a platforming area on his own. And I think that's great.
I always seem to forget about this game. I remember when it released being a huge deal, and after some reviews and big playthroughs it seemed to fade into obscurity after that, despite it taking so long to come out. The frustrating nature of the gameplay seemed to turn off an extreme amount of potential fans, but I agree with what you’re saying about repetitive moments in a game/media. Something I’ve been trying to put into words for a long time and you conveyed that very well. Extremely refreshing to see a positive take on this game
One thing I always hated is how the people bashed the realism with Trico in this game cause while it might be tedious sometimes (though it‘s not nearly as bad as people claimed) it actually serves an artistic purpose. But when a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 comes along which is super realistic just for the purpose of being super realistic with no artistic purpose and even more tedium caused by the forced realism everyone is like „omg this is so realistic😍😍😍“
I always think about when I first played RDR2, you start by robbing a house. Before I go in I look around and notice a barn, but the door is closed and won't open. I think "Ok, I can't go in there." so I rob the house. After I finished robbing the house, another character says 'Check out that barn over there' and suddenly the door is open and there's a man inside waiting to ambush me. After all of the high praise and hype surrounding the incredible realism, it felt very heavily directed. The more I read about it, it turns out that was exactly what the experience was meant to be - you had to do things in exactly the way you were told to do them or you would fail an objective, and the realism was in the presentation and visual accuracy of the details. There wasn't really anything to 'discover' because you weren't allowed to explore.
Personally, I think that certain well-executed frustrating moments should be considered a complement to fun rather than something unfun that strengthens some other message. For the Last Guardian, those times when Trico does not listen make it that much sweeter when he finally does. True fun does not come from a constant dose of happy chemicals, it comes from pleasure in the face of pain. Ying and yang, and all that. Although perhaps I'm defining "fun" in strokes too broad, and I just don't want to admit that journalist who said video games shouldn't be fun was even partially right.
I found myself agreeing with you out loud throughout your entire essay. I’ve tried to explain all these things to friends just for them to shoot them down as ‘bad design’ and it had been immensely frustrating. Lovely to finally hear someone agree with me.
I love all the games by this team. They’re peak video games as art. The creativity and passion, yes, but using the unique ability that only games have to put you in the story, to feel, just through sheer gameplay alone, what they wanted you to experience. And this one in particular will rip your heart from your chest. It’s an experience that’s so rare and special. You’ll remember it forever.
It’s my favourite Ueda game. I feel some games aren’t suited for big publications or TH-camrs trying to meet a deadline. Saying that, I completed this in two really long gameplay sessions. I love it wholeheartedly
5:20 - 8:00 Yooo thank you so much for saying this! I've felt this way for a long time and have never been able to put it into words. Some of my favorite games have "boring" or "repetitive" sections that I think enhance the experience. It's frustrating seeing people list these kinds of things as 'objective' flaws when they can be so important to its artistic vision. They may be enough to have some people not enjoy the experience, but its also an important part of what made the overall experience so impactful for so many others.
My favourite game of all time. It's just an experience you will never forget. And surprisingly it's very fun on subsequent playthroughs unlike Ueda's past 2 games.
Great video. Only thing I would personally change is I wouldn't use the word "nature" as a stand-in for Trico so often, because that term feels too broad to me as the game does focus on a very specific part of the nature, i.e. the other species of conscious beings that we share it with. It's about learning to respect and care for animals rather than seek to control and exploit them (as the Master of the Valley does). And as you explained it does that extremely well not just through the overall narrative (which is absolutely stirring and heartwrenching) but through its gameplay design as well. Though of course in Ueda's games in general the gameplay is always inextricably connected to and in service of the story and themes. I honestly feel The Last Guardian was ahead of its time, and that in years to come its genius will be more appreciated, and more people will realize how miraculous it was that we got an experience like it in a medium like videogames.
Gorgeous game and a heartwrenching story. For me, the frustrations communicating with Trico only felt normal having had dogs for my entire life, and made Trico seem like a real animal. What I thought were the truly frustrating parts were the continuous button prompts that you mentioned and also the fact that the kid just automatically sticks to Trico instead of holding down a button to hold onto things like in Shadow of the Colossus. It's a decision I just don't understand, since the alternative worked so well in SotC. Holding down a button makes moments when you're holding on for dear life way more intense and interactive (even if there isn't a stamina bar, which would be unnecessary for this game) and also makes getting on and especially off of Trico's back waaay less frustrating. It's also worsened by the camera getting stuck on things and not knowing which way you need to go to get down to the ground. Nonetheless, still an amazing game despite it's shortcomings, one of my favorites for sure. I've always loved stories about the relationship between humanity and nature, especially when told through a friendship like the one Trico and the boy have. Thank you for putting into words my love of this game, and its unappreciated genius. Great video.
I just got around to playing this hame two days ago. Beautiful experience. I was definitely frustrated at some points trying to guide Trico but I also could appreciate how realistic that was and eventually see how not having total control over trico is essential to the story and relationship between the boy and Trico. By the time the credits rolled I was wondering why I was even frustrated back then, I only remembered the great moments and felt bittersweet at the end of the journey. Awesome analysis, great video
Great video, made me go and play it again. Trico genuinely starts to trust you more over the progress of the game. The amount of effort put into the little interactions he has with you and the environment really brings the whole environment alive - he claws at things and sniffs around, rolls on the ground and sticks his head into holes... People sometimes like to talk about stuff like 'world building' and it's the characters who make the world what it is, they turn the 'space' into a 'place' - it would feel like a very different game if Trico were a two headed land squid who coughed at you (or something like that), even if nothing else about the world was changed.
Has to be one of the greatest games ever made, even though I'm still on my first playthrough. But still, I’ve noticed many of your observations too and welcome those design choices. It’s a very refreshing and beautiful game!
The griffin feels like a living animal. So many little details and micro expressions Ico didn’t need to put in but makes all the difference in the world and this was done YEARS ago! I love when he whacks a bad guy off a ledge or something and Trico follows where he when with a look of curiosity like a dog playing with a ball.
I never got frustrated with trico. The way the boys platforming got on my nerves quite a bit but trico always seemed to respond to your commands if you are patient.
Kinda glad to see people seemed to have warmed up to this game over the past six years it's been out. Ueda's games all have this timeless quality to them and it seems to take a few years or so for people to truly see their value.
I'll never be friends with anyone who says the game's design is bad because you can't control Trico. It's an animal. Yes, an AI animal in a game, but it's still an animal and it's designed to BE an animal, so the argument that "it's a game" doesn't work. Animals have their own minds. If someone is willing to look at an AI animal like Trico as a tool, I would be hard pressed to believe they don't view real life animals as tools or objects.
I’m not much of a gamer, but this game blew me away 😭 just finished playing it and I cannot stop crying 😢 Wish I could’ve at least removed his spears before sending him away 😭 never expected the bond I would be building with a fictional character. Trico reminds me of our family dog 🥹
Funny how I told Jackdon to work on a new video on his last livestream years ago and he said "yeah i''m working on it" then he just disappears for 2 years
7:35 There is a difference between good and bad pace roadblocks in games. That difference is immersion. Loading screens and long text bubbles are not immersive hence why you want to skip them. A good example of pace roadblock that is immersive I can think of right now is Uncharted 3. After a fast-paced fight scene in the air, you crash land on a desert. You end up walking very slowly for a few minutes in an empty land, away from anything fun. But it feels immersive and calming, before you reach next storm. In fact, all of naughty dog games have these moments, making the games far more enjoyable. Another example I can think of is No mans sky vs starfield traveling. Both have loading screens, but the ones in No man's sky feel better because they are more immersive. In starfield, you open a menu, select a planet and get a loading screen, not very immersive and not very enjoyable. In no man's sky, you get inside your ship, fly into the air then look at the planet you want to go to. Then you activate your warpdrive and experience flying towards the planet at speeds faster than light. That feels so much more immersive and enjoyable than starfield loading screens even though both are technically loading screens. The issue with the Last Guardian is that even though it tries to add immersive pace roadblocks, there are a lot of non-immersive roadblocks caused by bugs and bad code. And an even bigger issue is that in the last guardian, good and bad pace roadblocks interweave with each other so flawlessly that half the time you can't tell if something makes sense or not. Dogo going the wrong way? Is it accurate to what a real life dogo would do or is the doggo bugged right now? Not knowing if something is working properly immediately strips away immersion making the Last Guardian a bit of a failed attempt at creating immersive slow moments. If you are going to frustrate gamers, it has to be realistic to the scenario. When you're trying to finish a puzzle then dogo randomly starts playing in the water making you have to wait, that is immersive and enjoyable. When you get on dogo and jump over a large gap in a bridge and as soon as your about to get off, doggo does a fast 180 to jump back the original location. Now that isnt very immersive. Its true that pets are random and easily get distracted but ive never seen a pet make a giant jump then immediately 180 and jump back. In this case, its not immersive since its most likely the buggy ai messing up again.
I think you make a really good point, and I appreciate the thoughtful comment. I know that confusion of "Is this intentional or a bug?" plagues a lot of games and The Last Guardian can have some moments like that too. As far as I can remember, however, in the 3-4 playthroughs I did for this video, there was only one time I thought Trico got legitimately stuck for reasons unrelated to my play. Again, ensuring that Trico is literally looking at the boy fixes a ton of the difficulties players have once commands are unlocked, to the point where I was genuinely stunned by how dramatically it sped up the game, so some of the "bugs" I'd wager are far more weighted toward intentional design/suboptimal play than code. The overall jankiness of the game definitely has a negative effect but I'd also say that future players won't have many of these concerns. Most of the frame rate and input latency issues are gone if you play the game on PS5, so, in the lung run, concessions like a poor frame rate aren't necessarily bad, though they most certainly affected the perception created around the game initially. Even though poor frame rates and dubious AI coding aren't related though, I think an improved technical presentation will cause players to psychologically blame the game less when awkward moments arise, meaning they're far more likely to look inwards and try interacting with Trico in different ways when things go wrong. When the game runs and plays well, it's a lot easier to assume that the experience is tighter and less buggy than it is when people played it on the base PS4 at launch.
@@jackdonsurfer Thank you for your in-depth response. About you not experiencing bugs, I wonder if by the time you replayed it if the game received many fixes. Single player games usually have all their player base at launch then it dies off fast. I haven't played it in recent times so I wouldn't know. I do remember a lot of bugs tho that I had to fix by reloading the game 💀Also, based on the general public, a wonky ai was the general consensus. Anyways, thank you for making this video, I really enjoyed it. I'm always glad to see videos on anything related to shadow of Colosus, ico and the last guardian. I feel like they deserve more love
to me half of this game's appeal is its majestic soundtrack which is absolutely amazing. As is Tricko itself. The whole game is a masterpiece, it goes without saying. But yeah the camera is bad and I wish it had NG+ where you could manage commands to the creature faster and easier for the fun replayability purposes. cause it's a bit tedious on subsequent playthroughs
LoL at some of the comments. Difficulty and frustration should serve a purpose; that was the whole point. If it's just thrown in meaninglessly it cheapens the whole experience.
I finished it yesterday. What a special game!! I can't believe it got that criticized when it came out when clearly the things it does good are so great that make the camera and control issues a super minor complaint in comparison. I guess it goes to show how some gamers used to frantic repetitive games such as LoL, CoD and such can't have the patience to enjoy such a beautiful thing. Their loss and also ours, since lately only indie devs dare creating new experiences.
Trico: a moving bridge to get to much higher ground. While "Shadow Of The Colossus" still remains my no.1 game of the 21st Century...so far, I do have to give "The Last Guardian" credit for being the "only" video game so far to make me cry. And there is no denying that Trico is an A.I. like no other. Can't wait for SONY's event tomorrow to see if we get a trailer or teaser for Fumito Ueda's new game. As for Pink Floyd, I prefer "Meddle" over "Dark Side Of The Moon". Nice analysis.
11:52 exactly man, i don't understand how they made such an annoying feature to the game, when their previous games were known for not having a UI at all, it seriously ruins the experience when you finally reached a gorgeous view after dealing with clunky controls and a wild animal for a few hours, only for a prompt telling you how to pick up a barrel. and due to these issues, i can't help but feel that the game is somehow, incomplete? like the ability to turn off tutorial prompts is completely gone, yet Trico's AI is still so advanced; or how the controls are so slippery that it feels like you're permanently playing an ice level, but the boy has so many different dialogues for even something like petting trico
ich hab seit der playstation 1 bis zur playstation 5 soviele verschiedene spiele und generes gespielt, aber the last guardian ist und bleibt mein absolutes lieblingsspiel, das war so toll und am ende hab ich so schwer geweint, das ich noch tage brauchte um mich emotional von diesem spiel zu lösen, hab es mittlerweile 3 mal durchgespielt und immer wieder am ende geweint, hab mir sogar den soundtrack auf vinyl gekauft und das spiel als limited edition mit buch und trico figur! ich liebe Trico!
TLG is a hayao miyazaki type of story telling, leaving some slow moments for viewers/gamers to absorb the moment and breaks from action every now and then...forgot what its called tho
It's all about proper communication. Giving Trico multiple commands (by button smashing) might lead to de desired result, but a proper command and patience is the better way to do it. Just press a button, wait for Trico to react and give him time to cope. Trico is not human, not a machine.
Does the game hard freezes on some spots on PS4 version 1.0 ? i heard its an issue in the game and my PS4 has no wifi connection so i can't do updates/ patches
That's one of the most original games of all time! Shame that people leave it as they were annoyed by the camera angles or controls. This game is pure gold for me, highly underrated! And te music is simply amazing!
Seems extremely frustrating. I loved Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Own them both, played them when they came out twenty years ago, and still recommend them to everyone. But those controls were pretty tough. I couldn't do a game with worse controls than those.
I had some issues with the AI but usually I just took it as I wasn’t in the right spot to issue the command or something similar to that. I got frustrated a few time but nothing close to what others seem to experience
Men... Still this day i cannot stand the ending.. just the song makes me cry... The peak of emotions on a video game.. Yes.. Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2, God of war 4 and 5, The last of us 1 and 2 have emotional stories.. But the last Guardian is Just brutal. with almost no dialog.. only with trico animation and the boy.. you fall in love with a beast AI.. is just perfection... The game have crapy performance, the controls are terrible.. but the relationship with the beast is VERY VERY strong.. One of the best games ever made.
One of the biggest crimes is having the 60 fps mode only for an unpatched disc version from the PS4, the game is dirt cheap but was still hoping for a 60fps ps5 patch someday.
Unfortunately I'm not able to play this game. So my experience watching playthroughs on TH-cam definitely affects my impressions in some ways. My biggest gripe with it always was the overuse of the narration - it seems to explain too much when the situational and visual cues are more than enough, intrudes on moments that I think should be felt by the player in silence, or via the boys words in the present. Which feels odd, because both previous games by the team focus so much on that almost wordless storytelling. Regardless it's a beautiful game, with wonderful art direction in music, story and visuals. If I ever get a chance to play it I definitely will, even though I've seen it many times already. I have a soft spot for any games that give you an animal companion, so this one feels like it was built for me haha A lot of people seem to criticize Trico's unpredictability or ignorance but I think that's his charm - his AI was built to be an autonomous creature, to resemble a bot servant less. I feel like that makes these later moments where Trico pulls you out of tight spots so much more gratifying.
I tried to get into this game on the PS5 just last week, but the 30fps framerate and washed out lighting and visual style didn't win me over at all sadly :(
It's a ps3 game that was released much later than it should. Ico was a better game, because you didn't have to rely on the companion AI to do what you want. Trico just isn't responsive enough, and this adds a lot of frustration. If only there was a way for the player to control Trico, it would have been better. It's still a great game, I would take it over any souless AAA trash anytime.
The only thing I hated about this game was the ending. Everything else? Exceptional and amazing. Like, I loved it so much. (Couldn't play, so I watched others play it.)
@@jackdonsurfer It just wasn't happy. You get returned to your village, then your companion is forced to leave. I know he's fine, due to a post credits scene, but still.
I dont understand why people thinl trico is annoying because he seems to listen to me every time sure it does take him a while sometimes but i dont really mind
A lack of control over gameplay makes it more of a movie; Except, in this movie, you have to change your TV remote batteries often; seeing as how Trico won't listen. Trico being difficult feels like a unique way for the company to inflate the games time, instead of taking the risk of more content. Would be a nightmare if this game design started to trend! Despite my opinion, I Loved your video, well done again!
i feel this game is too good for our era (Satan's end times world). most people cannot enjoy simple beauty it seems, and rather focus on secondary things like controls. I don't know if there is a word strong enough to describe how I enjoyed playing this game. I hadn't finished it yet that I already knew that this game was going to enter my hall of fame 🤩. an absolute gem for me. video gaming at its best 👍
The graphics in this game destroys everything on PC especially path tracing. This is the most photo realistic game out there pure CGI. The cutscenes are the gameplay graphics there is no difference. Trico is easily 20 million polygons the boy is pure physics on display people have no idea. He acts just like a human would traversing the land scape stumbling around photo realistic landscapes
⬜Incredible video I loved your perspective! The Space odyssey and Pink Floyd comparison made me pause and think for a solid second bravo; another example has to be Pink Floyd's short album: Meddle my favorite album of theirs; It has everything from musical elements almost creeping from behind you to non musical sounds *meddling* with the Instrumentals in an oxymoronic way that just works (They shouldn't work) and then the penultimate track undo's all that momentum the first four tracks added (Someone get that dog to a Vet). 🟦*BUT* I played the game for a second time last month because my friend said he loved watching the game on TH-cam and man it's was painful, I was begging for each part to end just to be reminded that a worse part is to follow (InMyExperience) but saying that I think I understand his and yours view. The art is amazing, The colours, The score. The architecture oh god the architecture looks so good when you see them from above... The issue is this kinda feels like playing as Ashley for the entirety of RE4; Yes watching from side line make the game just as fun because they still get to see Leon do WWE moves on villagers but as the player it sucks for me. I wanna be punished for my mistakes and improve and conquer ; so what is to learn from getting corrupted for the umpteenth time cause my dog cat thing is too busy with the imaginary enemy. 🟪I think that's why an incredible movie like Angel's Egg and to a lesser extend the comic BLAME won't make a good games; They are perfect because of their bleak Atmosphere, sense of hope in loss and absolute hopelessness. And this concludes my essay. 🟥-With Love, V.V.
If you enjoyed the video, please consider sharing it with other people that you think would be interested. It would help out a lot
What are some of your favorite games that aren’t always “fun”?
you should do a follow up on the new pokemon game, i'd like to hear your take
yo, jack, its mooni, hope your college works going good, you should stream when you have the time feels like I'm just chilling with you when you do, if you don't then I will. this is a warning. *moonwalks back to England*
@@babymoonboy if I never stream then you’ll do one?? BET I’m never streaming again
@@jackdonsurfer hahaha if I do I better see you tuning in
The Souls series isn't always "fun", but it's very fulfilling and rewarding and satisfying
The Last Guardian's mistakes are commonplace, but the things it does well are unparalleled.
I have some significant complaints about TLG, but it's one of my favorite games regardless, for two reasons:
1. It leans into the strengths of the medium to do something unique and moving.
2. It doesn't compromise on its vision, even when it will obviously push many players away.
You explained this well. The Last of Us was the perfect counterexample - it wants to be deeper than most games but doesn't fully commit on either of these points.
This is my favorite game by this studio because of how uniquely it conveys the journey of the player. The typical approach to showing player growth is rather obvious. In games like RPGs, your growth is shown literally through your increased levels and how much easier older fights are the stronger you get. In games like platformers, your growth is shown through you tackling tough platforming challenges in the endgame when at the beginning you struggled with the simple things.
But in The Last Guardian, it is the frustration you can feel earlier on in the game before you've formed a bond with Trico that conveys the most unique and yet most satisfying sense of growth I've experienced in a video game. Without that initial frustration, you wouldn't be able to appreciate the later moments of the game where Trico immediately listens to what you say. Or better yet, when Trico knows on his own what to do in a puzzle because you've been through similar things before. Whereas in the beginning I'd have to repeatedly keep telling Trico to jump to the next area and sometimes call him back to me because he got distracted and went somewhere else, by the end I can almost sit back while Trico clears a platforming area on his own. And I think that's great.
I always seem to forget about this game. I remember when it released being a huge deal, and after some reviews and big playthroughs it seemed to fade into obscurity after that, despite it taking so long to come out. The frustrating nature of the gameplay seemed to turn off an extreme amount of potential fans, but I agree with what you’re saying about repetitive moments in a game/media. Something I’ve been trying to put into words for a long time and you conveyed that very well. Extremely refreshing to see a positive take on this game
One thing I always hated is how the people bashed the realism with Trico in this game cause while it might be tedious sometimes (though it‘s not nearly as bad as people claimed) it actually serves an artistic purpose. But when a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 comes along which is super realistic just for the purpose of being super realistic with no artistic purpose and even more tedium caused by the forced realism everyone is like „omg this is so realistic😍😍😍“
Being super realistic IS an artistic purpose, you can't just pretend it isn't.
@@SomniaCE ok but that doesn't change the fact that RDR2 did hyper-realism just for its own sake and not to support a broader vision
I always think about when I first played RDR2, you start by robbing a house. Before I go in I look around and notice a barn, but the door is closed and won't open. I think "Ok, I can't go in there." so I rob the house. After I finished robbing the house, another character says 'Check out that barn over there' and suddenly the door is open and there's a man inside waiting to ambush me.
After all of the high praise and hype surrounding the incredible realism, it felt very heavily directed. The more I read about it, it turns out that was exactly what the experience was meant to be - you had to do things in exactly the way you were told to do them or you would fail an objective, and the realism was in the presentation and visual accuracy of the details. There wasn't really anything to 'discover' because you weren't allowed to explore.
Game is fantastic, I just wish it didn't have one of the worst cameras in gaming
Personally, I think that certain well-executed frustrating moments should be considered a complement to fun rather than something unfun that strengthens some other message. For the Last Guardian, those times when Trico does not listen make it that much sweeter when he finally does. True fun does not come from a constant dose of happy chemicals, it comes from pleasure in the face of pain. Ying and yang, and all that.
Although perhaps I'm defining "fun" in strokes too broad, and I just don't want to admit that journalist who said video games shouldn't be fun was even partially right.
I found myself agreeing with you out loud throughout your entire essay. I’ve tried to explain all these things to friends just for them to shoot them down as ‘bad design’ and it had been immensely frustrating. Lovely to finally hear someone agree with me.
I love all the games by this team. They’re peak video games as art. The creativity and passion, yes, but using the unique ability that only games have to put you in the story, to feel, just through sheer gameplay alone, what they wanted you to experience. And this one in particular will rip your heart from your chest. It’s an experience that’s so rare and special. You’ll remember it forever.
It’s my favourite Ueda game. I feel some games aren’t suited for big publications or TH-camrs trying to meet a deadline.
Saying that, I completed this in two really long gameplay sessions.
I love it wholeheartedly
5:20 - 8:00 Yooo thank you so much for saying this! I've felt this way for a long time and have never been able to put it into words. Some of my favorite games have "boring" or "repetitive" sections that I think enhance the experience. It's frustrating seeing people list these kinds of things as 'objective' flaws when they can be so important to its artistic vision. They may be enough to have some people not enjoy the experience, but its also an important part of what made the overall experience so impactful for so many others.
My favourite game of all time. It's just an experience you will never forget. And surprisingly it's very fun on subsequent playthroughs unlike Ueda's past 2 games.
Great video. Only thing I would personally change is I wouldn't use the word "nature" as a stand-in for Trico so often, because that term feels too broad to me as the game does focus on a very specific part of the nature, i.e. the other species of conscious beings that we share it with. It's about learning to respect and care for animals rather than seek to control and exploit them (as the Master of the Valley does). And as you explained it does that extremely well not just through the overall narrative (which is absolutely stirring and heartwrenching) but through its gameplay design as well. Though of course in Ueda's games in general the gameplay is always inextricably connected to and in service of the story and themes. I honestly feel The Last Guardian was ahead of its time, and that in years to come its genius will be more appreciated, and more people will realize how miraculous it was that we got an experience like it in a medium like videogames.
Gorgeous game and a heartwrenching story.
For me, the frustrations communicating with Trico only felt normal having had dogs for my entire life, and made Trico seem like a real animal.
What I thought were the truly frustrating parts were the continuous button prompts that you mentioned and also the fact that the kid just automatically sticks to Trico instead of holding down a button to hold onto things like in Shadow of the Colossus. It's a decision I just don't understand, since the alternative worked so well in SotC.
Holding down a button makes moments when you're holding on for dear life way more intense and interactive (even if there isn't a stamina bar, which would be unnecessary for this game) and also makes getting on and especially off of Trico's back waaay less frustrating. It's also worsened by the camera getting stuck on things and not knowing which way you need to go to get down to the ground.
Nonetheless, still an amazing game despite it's shortcomings, one of my favorites for sure. I've always loved stories about the relationship between humanity and nature, especially when told through a friendship like the one Trico and the boy have.
Thank you for putting into words my love of this game, and its unappreciated genius. Great video.
I count myself as lucky for being early for such a masterfully produced and written video. Amazing work!
Thank you very much for that entertaining watch. You've highlighted most of the elements which make TLG one of my favorite games of all time.
I just got around to playing this hame two days ago. Beautiful experience.
I was definitely frustrated at some points trying to guide Trico but I also could appreciate how realistic that was and eventually see how not having total control over trico is essential to the story and relationship between the boy and Trico. By the time the credits rolled I was wondering why I was even frustrated back then, I only remembered the great moments and felt bittersweet at the end of the journey.
Awesome analysis, great video
This is great, really surprised you don't have a bigger following, you deserve it.
Great video, made me go and play it again. Trico genuinely starts to trust you more over the progress of the game. The amount of effort put into the little interactions he has with you and the environment really brings the whole environment alive - he claws at things and sniffs around, rolls on the ground and sticks his head into holes... People sometimes like to talk about stuff like 'world building' and it's the characters who make the world what it is, they turn the 'space' into a 'place' - it would feel like a very different game if Trico were a two headed land squid who coughed at you (or something like that), even if nothing else about the world was changed.
Has to be one of the greatest games ever made, even though I'm still on my first playthrough. But still, I’ve noticed many of your observations too and welcome those design choices. It’s a very refreshing and beautiful game!
Nice to see this game get some love while not as great as its predecessors its still an unforgettable experience
The griffin feels like a living animal. So many little details and micro expressions Ico didn’t need to put in but makes all the difference in the world and this was done YEARS ago!
I love when he whacks a bad guy off a ledge or something and Trico follows where he when with a look of curiosity like a dog playing with a ball.
I never got frustrated with trico. The way the boys platforming got on my nerves quite a bit but trico always seemed to respond to your commands if you are patient.
Kinda glad to see people seemed to have warmed up to this game over the past six years it's been out.
Ueda's games all have this timeless quality to them and it seems to take a few years or so for people to truly see their value.
THANK YOU. this game RAISED ME. It’s utterly flawless in my eyes I absolutely love this game
That was a really good video dude.
Thank you, I appreciate it
the last guardian will always have a place in my heart as one of the first games ive ever played. i love that little griffin thing
I'll never be friends with anyone who says the game's design is bad because you can't control Trico. It's an animal. Yes, an AI animal in a game, but it's still an animal and it's designed to BE an animal, so the argument that "it's a game" doesn't work. Animals have their own minds. If someone is willing to look at an AI animal like Trico as a tool, I would be hard pressed to believe they don't view real life animals as tools or objects.
I’m not much of a gamer, but this game blew me away 😭 just finished playing it and I cannot stop crying 😢 Wish I could’ve at least removed his spears before sending him away 😭 never expected the bond I would be building with a fictional character. Trico reminds me of our family dog 🥹
I felt it was like playing a Ghibli movie. With some flaws, but still amazing.
Funny how I told Jackdon to work on a new video on his last livestream years ago and he said "yeah i''m working on it" then he just disappears for 2 years
Michael Jordan retired for two years and then came back to win three more rings…
@@jackdonsurfer I only just found your channel and I already binged all your videos. Glad to know that you're still active
These video's are of such high quality... i wonder how they arent more populair
7:35 There is a difference between good and bad pace roadblocks in games. That difference is immersion. Loading screens and long text bubbles are not immersive hence why you want to skip them. A good example of pace roadblock that is immersive I can think of right now is Uncharted 3. After a fast-paced fight scene in the air, you crash land on a desert. You end up walking very slowly for a few minutes in an empty land, away from anything fun. But it feels immersive and calming, before you reach next storm. In fact, all of naughty dog games have these moments, making the games far more enjoyable. Another example I can think of is No mans sky vs starfield traveling. Both have loading screens, but the ones in No man's sky feel better because they are more immersive. In starfield, you open a menu, select a planet and get a loading screen, not very immersive and not very enjoyable. In no man's sky, you get inside your ship, fly into the air then look at the planet you want to go to. Then you activate your warpdrive and experience flying towards the planet at speeds faster than light. That feels so much more immersive and enjoyable than starfield loading screens even though both are technically loading screens.
The issue with the Last Guardian is that even though it tries to add immersive pace roadblocks, there are a lot of non-immersive roadblocks caused by bugs and bad code. And an even bigger issue is that in the last guardian, good and bad pace roadblocks interweave with each other so flawlessly that half the time you can't tell if something makes sense or not. Dogo going the wrong way? Is it accurate to what a real life dogo would do or is the doggo bugged right now? Not knowing if something is working properly immediately strips away immersion making the Last Guardian a bit of a failed attempt at creating immersive slow moments.
If you are going to frustrate gamers, it has to be realistic to the scenario. When you're trying to finish a puzzle then dogo randomly starts playing in the water making you have to wait, that is immersive and enjoyable. When you get on dogo and jump over a large gap in a bridge and as soon as your about to get off, doggo does a fast 180 to jump back the original location. Now that isnt very immersive. Its true that pets are random and easily get distracted but ive never seen a pet make a giant jump then immediately 180 and jump back. In this case, its not immersive since its most likely the buggy ai messing up again.
I think you make a really good point, and I appreciate the thoughtful comment. I know that confusion of "Is this intentional or a bug?" plagues a lot of games and The Last Guardian can have some moments like that too. As far as I can remember, however, in the 3-4 playthroughs I did for this video, there was only one time I thought Trico got legitimately stuck for reasons unrelated to my play. Again, ensuring that Trico is literally looking at the boy fixes a ton of the difficulties players have once commands are unlocked, to the point where I was genuinely stunned by how dramatically it sped up the game, so some of the "bugs" I'd wager are far more weighted toward intentional design/suboptimal play than code.
The overall jankiness of the game definitely has a negative effect but I'd also say that future players won't have many of these concerns. Most of the frame rate and input latency issues are gone if you play the game on PS5, so, in the lung run, concessions like a poor frame rate aren't necessarily bad, though they most certainly affected the perception created around the game initially. Even though poor frame rates and dubious AI coding aren't related though, I think an improved technical presentation will cause players to psychologically blame the game less when awkward moments arise, meaning they're far more likely to look inwards and try interacting with Trico in different ways when things go wrong. When the game runs and plays well, it's a lot easier to assume that the experience is tighter and less buggy than it is when people played it on the base PS4 at launch.
@@jackdonsurfer Thank you for your in-depth response. About you not experiencing bugs, I wonder if by the time you replayed it if the game received many fixes. Single player games usually have all their player base at launch then it dies off fast. I haven't played it in recent times so I wouldn't know. I do remember a lot of bugs tho that I had to fix by reloading the game 💀Also, based on the general public, a wonky ai was the general consensus.
Anyways, thank you for making this video, I really enjoyed it. I'm always glad to see videos on anything related to shadow of Colosus, ico and the last guardian. I feel like they deserve more love
to me half of this game's appeal is its majestic soundtrack which is absolutely amazing. As is Tricko itself. The whole game is a masterpiece, it goes without saying. But yeah the camera is bad and I wish it had NG+ where you could manage commands to the creature faster and easier for the fun replayability purposes. cause it's a bit tedious on subsequent playthroughs
LoL at some of the comments. Difficulty and frustration should serve a purpose; that was the whole point. If it's just thrown in meaninglessly it cheapens the whole experience.
what the hell! this video analysis is so incredible. instantly subscribed!
I finished it yesterday. What a special game!! I can't believe it got that criticized when it came out when clearly the things it does good are so great that make the camera and control issues a super minor complaint in comparison.
I guess it goes to show how some gamers used to frantic repetitive games such as LoL, CoD and such can't have the patience to enjoy such a beautiful thing. Their loss and also ours, since lately only indie devs dare creating new experiences.
Trico: a moving bridge to get to much higher ground. While "Shadow Of The Colossus" still remains my no.1 game of the 21st Century...so far, I do have to give "The Last Guardian" credit for being the "only" video game so far to make me cry. And there is no denying that Trico is an A.I. like no other. Can't wait for SONY's event tomorrow to see if we get a trailer or teaser for Fumito Ueda's new game. As for Pink Floyd, I prefer "Meddle" over "Dark Side Of The Moon". Nice analysis.
11:52 exactly man, i don't understand how they made such an annoying feature to the game, when their previous games were known for not having a UI at all, it seriously ruins the experience when you finally reached a gorgeous view after dealing with clunky controls and a wild animal for a few hours, only for a prompt telling you how to pick up a barrel.
and due to these issues, i can't help but feel that the game is somehow, incomplete? like the ability to turn off tutorial prompts is completely gone, yet Trico's AI is still so advanced; or how the controls are so slippery that it feels like you're permanently playing an ice level, but the boy has so many different dialogues for even something like petting trico
ich hab seit der playstation 1 bis zur playstation 5 soviele verschiedene spiele und generes gespielt, aber the last guardian ist und bleibt mein absolutes lieblingsspiel, das war so toll und am ende hab ich so schwer geweint, das ich noch tage brauchte um mich emotional von diesem spiel zu lösen, hab es mittlerweile 3 mal durchgespielt und immer wieder am ende geweint, hab mir sogar den soundtrack auf vinyl gekauft und das spiel als limited edition mit buch und trico figur! ich liebe Trico!
TLG is a hayao miyazaki type of story telling, leaving some slow moments for viewers/gamers to absorb the moment and breaks from action every now and then...forgot what its called tho
It's all about proper communication. Giving Trico multiple commands (by button smashing) might lead to de desired result, but a proper command and patience is the better way to do it. Just press a button, wait for Trico to react and give him time to cope. Trico is not human, not a machine.
Does the game hard freezes on some spots on PS4 version 1.0 ?
i heard its an issue in the game and my PS4 has no wifi connection so i can't do updates/ patches
I don’t remember crashes when I played the game originally but the frame rate can be pretty spotty. I wouldn’t worry about it
That's one of the most original games of all time! Shame that people leave it as they were annoyed by the camera angles or controls. This game is pure gold for me, highly underrated! And te music is simply amazing!
If only they would update to 1.04, where you have 60fps by default and all the game updates. This amazing game deserves it.
Seems extremely frustrating. I loved Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Own them both, played them when they came out twenty years ago, and still recommend them to everyone. But those controls were pretty tough. I couldn't do a game with worse controls than those.
This was great analysis!
I had some issues with the AI but usually I just took it as I wasn’t in the right spot to issue the command or something similar to that. I got frustrated a few time but nothing close to what others seem to experience
Clearly the greatest Ludonarrative experience released during that generation.
You’ve convinced me to give this game another shot👍
I love this video. Very well done and in depth. 🦊
Men... Still this day i cannot stand the ending.. just the song makes me cry...
The peak of emotions on a video game..
Yes.. Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2, God of war 4 and 5, The last of us 1 and 2 have emotional stories..
But the last Guardian is Just brutal. with almost no dialog.. only with trico animation and the boy.. you fall in love with a beast AI..
is just perfection...
The game have crapy performance, the controls are terrible.. but the relationship with the beast is VERY VERY strong..
One of the best games ever made.
Absolutely poignant review, man. Very well put, even from a philosophical standpoint. Subscribed.
The biggest problems with this game were the camera and performance at the time of release, that said, I love it and think Ueda haven't missed it yet
Thank you for this video! I loved this game when it came out, i never understood all the hate for this game
One of the biggest crimes is having the 60 fps mode only for an unpatched disc version from the PS4, the game is dirt cheap but was still hoping for a 60fps ps5 patch someday.
my god ur videos are so good
Loved this game. Much more than I enjoyed Shadow of the Colossus. Not as much as I enjoyed ICO :)
funny, I'm the exact opposite
This is probably my all time favorite video game
Where are you?
Cooking
Your voice sounds so familiar, do you run a different channel as well?
No, but you may have stumbled upon another one of my videos at some point
Ueda and Bluepoint should team up!
Unfortunately I'm not able to play this game. So my experience watching playthroughs on TH-cam definitely affects my impressions in some ways. My biggest gripe with it always was the overuse of the narration - it seems to explain too much when the situational and visual cues are more than enough, intrudes on moments that I think should be felt by the player in silence, or via the boys words in the present. Which feels odd, because both previous games by the team focus so much on that almost wordless storytelling.
Regardless it's a beautiful game, with wonderful art direction in music, story and visuals. If I ever get a chance to play it I definitely will, even though I've seen it many times already. I have a soft spot for any games that give you an animal companion, so this one feels like it was built for me haha A lot of people seem to criticize Trico's unpredictability or ignorance but I think that's his charm - his AI was built to be an autonomous creature, to resemble a bot servant less. I feel like that makes these later moments where Trico pulls you out of tight spots so much more gratifying.
He's back
I tried to get into this game on the PS5 just last week, but the 30fps framerate and washed out lighting and visual style didn't win me over at all sadly :(
This game is really beautiful and amazing and the graphics are just AHH AMAZING and the ai in trico is very realistic
It's a ps3 game that was released much later than it should. Ico was a better game, because you didn't have to rely on the companion AI to do what you want. Trico just isn't responsive enough, and this adds a lot of frustration. If only there was a way for the player to control Trico, it would have been better. It's still a great game, I would take it over any souless AAA trash anytime.
I never understood people saying they got frustrated during this game. I honestly did not have that experience.
Watch the dunkey video on this game, you’ll see.
Amazing game. Experienced a couple good emotional moments playing this. If you love animals definitely a good game.
The only thing I hated about this game was the ending. Everything else? Exceptional and amazing. Like, I loved it so much. (Couldn't play, so I watched others play it.)
What did you not like about the ending?
@@jackdonsurfer
It just wasn't happy. You get returned to your village, then your companion is forced to leave.
I know he's fine, due to a post credits scene, but still.
It's definitely the 'Ico' of it's day and age (this Current day n age.)
Bona-fide Classic.
was a 10/10 experience for me
Misunderstood masterpiece. It has great elements, but there are objectively fundamental flaws with the gameplay.
Come back, sir!
One of the best games ever made in one of the worst human generations.
I dont understand why people thinl trico is annoying because he seems to listen to me every time sure it does take him a while sometimes but i dont really mind
People are just impatient lol
Someone gets it
Is it just me or does this dude sound, talk, and have the same mannerisms as the 8 bit music theory guy?
I don’t hear it but I’ve gotten this comment a time or two before lol
@@jackdonsurfer probably just a regional accent or something like that. Great channel, dude. Keep it up!
Sorry I'm late. Cool vid. 😎
Pretty good.
A lack of control over gameplay makes it more of a movie;
Except, in this movie, you have to change your TV remote batteries often; seeing as how Trico won't listen.
Trico being difficult feels like a unique way for the company to inflate the games time, instead of taking the risk of more content. Would be a nightmare if this game design started to trend!
Despite my opinion, I Loved your video, well done again!
I need ur take on the new Pokémon games
The next video isn’t about them but a lot of the core ideas I talk about apply to PLA and S/V too, I won’t have much to say beyond that
i feel this game is too good for our era (Satan's end times world). most people cannot enjoy simple beauty it seems, and rather focus on secondary things like controls. I don't know if there is a word strong enough to describe how I enjoyed playing this game. I hadn't finished it yet that I already knew that this game was going to enter my hall of fame 🤩. an absolute gem for me. video gaming at its best 👍
The reason why ico works, and the last guardian doesn't, is because large parts of your ability to play the game weren't reliant on yorda
The graphics in this game destroys everything on PC especially path tracing. This is the most photo realistic game out there pure CGI. The cutscenes are the gameplay graphics there is no difference. Trico is easily 20 million polygons the boy is pure physics on display people have no idea. He acts just like a human would traversing the land scape stumbling around photo realistic landscapes
You already know I’m straight here
I just watched the whole video in 30 seconds
only a god TH-camr such as yourself could perform such a herculean task 👏
@@jackdonsurfer of course, a wise observation haha but a good video though I’ve always found games like this so interesting
Yeah no, it’s not a masterpiece. It road the hype train that Shadow of The Colossus created and banked off that.
Yes, games should be less fun. Good call.
No it's not
⬜Incredible video I loved your perspective! The Space odyssey and Pink Floyd comparison made me pause and think for a solid second bravo; another example has to be Pink Floyd's short album: Meddle my favorite album of theirs; It has everything from musical elements almost creeping from behind you to non musical sounds *meddling* with the Instrumentals in an oxymoronic way that just works (They shouldn't work) and then the penultimate track undo's all that momentum the first four tracks added (Someone get that dog to a Vet).
🟦*BUT* I played the game for a second time last month because my friend said he loved watching the game on TH-cam and man it's was painful, I was begging for each part to end just to be reminded that a worse part is to follow (InMyExperience) but saying that I think I understand his and yours view.
The art is amazing, The colours, The score. The architecture oh god the architecture looks so good when you see them from above...
The issue is this kinda feels like playing as Ashley for the entirety of RE4; Yes watching from side line make the game just as fun because they still get to see Leon do WWE moves on villagers but as the player it sucks for me. I wanna be punished for my mistakes and improve and conquer ; so what is to learn from getting corrupted for the umpteenth time cause my dog cat thing is too busy with the imaginary enemy.
🟪I think that's why an incredible movie like Angel's Egg and to a lesser extend the comic BLAME won't make a good games; They are perfect because of their bleak Atmosphere, sense of hope in loss and absolute hopelessness.
And this concludes my essay.
🟥-With Love, V.V.