Team Ico: The Evolution of the Storytellers

Ueda became an animator for the now-defunct videogame developer WARP. He worked on Enemy Zero for the Sega Saturn and mentioned dislike for his time there as the team was always behind schedule and therefore always doubling effort to meet the demanding deadlines.

Again, two years later Ueda joined Sony Computer Entertainment as a first-party developer. Since then, Fumito Ueda and his ever-growing elite team have contributed to Playstation 2 users in a way like no other.

Now with the history out of the way, the show can go on.

The inspiring Ico, originally intended for the first Playstation, managed to break gamers’ hearts worldwide when released in 2001. Unfortunately the game didn’t get enough publicity and to this day has only sold 700,000 copies, of which only 270,000 were sold in the United States. Eventually, rumour spread among avid gamers alike that this game was more than good, and that you should seek it out because one day (today) it would be an absolute nightmare to find in the shops.

Ico is predominantly a solemn, lone experience; its primary attraction being the lack of dialogue, use of colour and atmospheric environments all involving a twosome of very empathy-inducing, loveable characters on a seemingly never ending, impossible journey.

From the get-go the player is immersed into a beautiful world, foreign and deadly, yet very real and utterly believable. You control a boy, horned, and therefore cursed by the radical laws of the territory. The boy breaks free of imprisonment and begins his dramatic escape from this humongous castle. Players are thrust straight into the game, with no real ‘objectives’ other than to find your own way out. Throughout the experience of Ico, you will encounter puzzling platforming sections; close quarters combat with ghostly spirits and traverse your way out of the most demanding environment ever virtually created.

Alas, the cursed boy soon finds Yorda; a woman who radiates light and speaks an alien language. Freeing Yorda from a primitive cage, the boy is tasked with her escape as well as his own. Ico involves the player so much in the experience, that this game is, controversially, seen as more than just a game. It is widely renowned as a form and variety of art.

I cannot overemphasize enough, the amount of willingness I felt for these characters. It is unbelievable, looking back that the combat, however one-button based it was, could emulate so much passion for the remarkable bond between the two protagonists. There is nothing like it, in any game to this day. Defending the helpless Yorda with nothing but a stick against the evil queen’s spawn is a brilliant gameplay moment. Personally, I’ve never shouted at my TV so much, though not in frustration, as it usually is.

Arguments aside, it is easily one of the most groundbreaking games of the last generation, showing that deep emotion and design simplicity can overwhelm even the thickest of skins.

Team Ico didn’t shy away from critical success; in fact they did anything but. Focusing on only improving on their skill and expertise with their latest and in my opinion, their greatest game yet.

Shadow of the Colossus was a long wait for me, being in PAL territory; the United Kingdom didn’t get it until February 2006, while North America and Japan had it readily available for October 2005.

In Shadow of the Colossus, you take reigns (pun intended) of Wander. A young man who has lost the life of a woman he loves. In this dystopia, this gorgeous horizon, a rumour is ripe that a temple far into ‘forbidden lands’ possesses the power to resurrect the dead. And so, Wander travels to the temple and is set upon by a thunderous, transcendent voice that commands him to slay sixteen Colossi in exchange for the woman’s life.

I felt as though Team Ico wanted to grasp a wider audience's attention and so they made a more action-oriented game; and Shadow of the Colossus did not lose any of the edge that made Ico so special. Instead of Yorda, there is your trusty steed, Agro. Again, personally, I felt more attachment to Agro than to Yorda.

How is this possible, that I bonded more so with a horse than a human being? I suppose the exceptional motion capture helps, creating the most lifelike animal ever seen in video gaming. It’s still not been surpassed, I’ve beaten Assassins Creed II recently, and it's while a great game in its own right, the horses still don’t match Agro’s credibility. Which is an amazing achievement.

A massive change of direction for Fumito Ueda was the hiring of the undeniably talented Kow Otani, in which his music is only really present when a Colossus is, and of course it's extremely powerful. Ico didn’t have much music; I wouldn’t even call it ‘music’, more ambiences. The forlorn adventure that Wander and Agro embark on is just amazing. Graphically, at the time it took the Playstation 2 to its limits, with bloom lightning and no loading times when riding Agro around a huge landscape.

With those games now very much in the past, Team Ico is in progress of developing and designing one of the most anticipated games of the year, The Last Guardian. I can see the resemblance between it and Ico and cannot wait enough for it to be finished and in my hands. But, in true Team Ico fashion, it will be done when it’s done, right? You can look out for it in Spring/Summer of next year.

You can take a look at The Last Guardian's epic trailer here.