Mystic_Ode

@icoshrine.neocities.org

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I share obscure interviews, hidden details, and promo material for ICO (PS2). I also repost Team ICO community fanart, reviews, and news. https://icoshrine.neocities.org/

A Play Magazine clipping, the quote reads: "Based on what I've seen of the game, and the fantastic people I met at Glyphx Games, I can't imagine Advent Rising being anything less than the epic about the power of humanity that Donald is almost willing into fruition. At the very least, if 10 percent of their dedication, love of gaming and undying desire to entertain comes through, Advent Rising will live on in that purgatory of greatness where games like Ico and GunValkyrie reside, but something tells me that because of their film savvy and marketing background, this one will go all the way. Either way, it's a win-win for gamers everywhere."
North Temple, Zelda II.
An 8-bit depiction of Princess Zelda, as she appears in Zelda II. Spellbound into eternal rest, lying with her back upon an altar, her hands clasped together.
A set of 111 x 75 pixel banners. The first set of 8 display promotional shots for ICO, with each of the following colors written as text: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, and Gray. Two at the base are each labelled as 'Sketchpad' and each display portions of the panoramic cover art from the ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection on PS3. The banners each have 20 slots that can be filled. The final banner at the base is a personal banner I made for linking to my page. It has the word 'Mystic' in bright blue under a close up of Ico and Yorda's hands, gripped together. 'Colors TCG' is also written in small text at the base of it.
Text: DRAKAN – THE ANCIENTS’ GATES JOIN RYNN, A BRAVE FEMALE WARRIOR, AND HER FEARLESS COMPANION, AROKH, ON THEIR QUEST TO SAVE CIVILIZATION. ENGAGE IN INTENSE GROUND AND AERIAL COMBAT AS YOU BATTLE YOUR WAY TO SAVE HUMANITY. Coming Winter 2002 OVERCOME OBSTACLES AND ADVERSARIES TO GAIN SKILL AS A FIGHTER, ARCHER OR MAGE. FIGHT YOUR WAY THROUGH MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTS INCLUDING AN ARCTIC TUNDRA, SWAMP LANDS, AND A FORGOTTEN, DECAYING CITY. Image: A small humanoid figure (Rynn, presumably) rides atop a large, red draconic figure (Arokh, presumably) through a canyon. In the distance, mountains are obscured by a haze of heat. Plateaus of varying heights closer to the figures have palm trees atop browning grass. A fireball streaks across the center of the screen, from the dragon towards the left side of the screen. A river runs through the bottom of the canyon. Two red circles rest at the bottom left and right corners of the screen, presumably part of the user interface. Image: A red-headed humanoid woman (Rynn, presumably) stands in a snowy area. She is wearing leather pants, a sleeveless leather tunic, and leather bracers on her arms. She wields a two-handed great sword with four spikes on the guard, two spikes in the middle of the blade, and two larger spikes further to the top of the blade. In the background, there is a mountain range, and a small assemblage of evergreen trees (pine, presumably) all covered in a light dusting of snow. The sky is gray, and the sun appears as a white orb resting near the top of one of the mountains. In the bottom left corner of the image is a red orb and a blue bar, and on the lower right corner is a blue orb, all assumed to be part of the user interface.
A portion of a magazine scan, taken from PSM Issue 49 (September 2001), Page 58. The image shows an altered layout for the entrance to Sunbeams (Stage 3t), that has a pool of water along the left side. Ico is doing battle with a Shadow nearly three times his size. The caption reads: "If the princess is kidnapped by the shadow creatures, the game ends. The bad guys even come super-sized. Better get out your hitting stick..."
Ico rushes headfirst into a Shadow with an unarmed attack animation that isn't used in the retail game. He knocks the Shadow down, freeing Yorda from their grip. Then, he turns to the next Shadow and attacks them from the front. Unexpectedly, the attack is blocked by a black, oval forcefield!
A small tree, planted in the midst of a parking lot. The surrounding buildings and streetlights are swathed in grey from a thick fog and overcast sky. Still, the sun's white light breaks through the haze, and seems to be cradled on the canopy leaves of the central tree. Like a bird's nest with a glowing egg.
A magazine page featuring a traditional colored pencil portrait of Minky Momo, sketchy in its artistic rendering. A sunset-orange light casts long shadows across overhanging leaves. Momo's face is pensive and her head turned away, her fingers clasp at a yellow scarf around her neck. A passage in Japanese along the side where it seems Watanabe discusses his time at a signing event.
A close up of an armored Momo, bathed in bright light that obscures all colors but the sharp blue of her determined eyes.
Sindbook, commenting on Momo's human parents: "As usual, that older couple's got it bad." Momo is looking offscreen, shocked.
Mocha the Monkey, disguised as a penguin, ponders his situation, thinking: "One thing led to another, and my friends abandoned me here."
A screenshot from ICO. Birds fly by the cliffs of the mainland as the castle sinks into the ocean. A double rainbow can be seen amid the rays of light emerging from parting clouds in an otherwise overcast sky.
Papa has a book of the occult and supernatural opened before him. On the left page is some form of pentagram circle. On the right page is a paragraph of scrawled illegible text with a single small picture. The picture shows a creature resembling Kajira, Momo's newest animal companion. One singular English word next to this portrait in legible: 'Totou'.
A blue sign that reads "FAT JEWELY" in bright pink letters.
Momo's subtitles read: "I don't believe in that fairy-tale nonsense."
Ico stands in the building of the Trolley map. Noticeable in the distance fog is a large stone sofa against the wall.
Ico stands in the building of the Trolley map. Obscured in the distance fog is a switch against a wall.
A very thin shelf with two compartments, top and bottom. Blu-rays on the top row, from left to right: Columbo Seasons 1-7, Future Boy Conan, Lupin the Third - The Castle of Cagliostro, Galaxy Express 999 - The Movie, Adieu Galaxy Express 999 - The Movie, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Sailor Moon S, Revolutionary Girl Utena (The Black Rose Arc) Blu-rays and CDs on the bottom row, from left to right: Sonic X - The Complete Series, Sonic the Hedgehog - 1+2 Movie Collection, Godzilla Minus One, Flow / Rubber Soul - The Beatles, Boheme - deep forest, 1 - The Beatles, PAPX 96509 Promo Disc, ICO Melody in the Mist Album, Hymns for the Exiled - Anaïs Mitchell, Hadestown Broadway Cast Recording, If The Fates Allow (The Hadestown Christmas Album), Anaïs Mitchell - Anaïs Mitchell, 4 blank CDs
Momo says "I keep getting dragged into the strangest events!"
A screen capture of the linked article with the following text displayed: what does Shadow of the Colossus creator Fumito Ueda make of the impact his games have had on players and players-turned-secret-hunters, and of the continued fascination his worlds have inspired? Eurogamer put the question to him during Summer Game Fest. "I feel so fortunate that there are people that still continue to look for things that could be hidden," he explained via translator. "I'm just thankful they want to be with the world, with the experience that they want to tie themselves back to and belong. That makes me very happy."
Image of the Radicals Tab, which features 253 radicals as tags to narrow searches for specific characters.
A screenshot from ICO. The camera is manually panned up towards the sky in the Sluice map. The sun beams brightly through a gap in the fence lining the overpass, saturating the green leaves of a tree and the tan bricks of stone edifices surrounding it.
Page 86 of ICO's Official Japanese Guidebook. At the top of the page are some small image captures of ICO during its development on PS1. At the bottom are profile shots of Jinji Horagai and Hajime Sugiyama, who each took on many programming roles for the game. The page's body contains a portion of an interview in Japanese. All of it is transcribed below: 杉山〇彼女からのリクエストはいつもグレードが高くて、ホントに。これってプログラムで何となるの？みたいな、根本的な部分から聞かれるんです。 上田〇でも、そういった細かいこだわりがデカイんですよ。実際、振り向く首の動きが10度違うだけで、綺麗な人が突然不細工に見えたりしますよね。振り向く動きの速度の兼ね合いもありますけど。 海道〇当然、基本的なキャラクターアニメーションがあって、そうしたパターンをどこでどう使うかによって、いろいろと表現のニュアンスを変えていくわけです。手をつなぐ部分で言えば、不自然じゃないようにまず手と手を重ねてみて、その後に一連の動きがぎにちなく見えないように組み上げていくと。 上田〇そうしたこだわりは全編に満ちていますね。根底に、開発チームみんなでこのゲームを良くしよう、良くしようという意識があったんだと思います。 30フレームはベストの選択だったと思います（海道） ―砂浜のエンディングは印象に残りますね。 上田〇エンディングのイメージは企画スタートの時からありました。開発チームの中には、最終的に少年は助からないほうがいいんじゃないかと言う人もいましたけど。映画ならそういう結末でもいいかもしれませんが、あくまでこれはゲームなんで、ハッピーエンドにしたかったんです。 ―動きの滑らかさはホントに心地よいですね。 杉山〇モーションの話を引き続きさせてもらうと、最初はこのゲーム、60フレーム（※3）で動いていたんです。僕自身がそれまでアーケードゲームの制作を担当してきてましたから、60フレームが当たり前だと思っていました。ところが上田をはじめとしたデザイナーの人達は30フレームのほうが良いと。 ※3 1秒間に動くポリゴンデータのフレーム数のこと。「GT3」「バーチャファイター4」などの最近のポリゴンゲームはほとんど60フレーム/秒で動いている。 上田〇僕はCGの世界でやってますから、基本的に30フレームのほうがしっくり来るんですよ。 洞谷〇でも、結果的に30フレームのほうが「ICO」には合ってましたよね。 杉山〇僕も今では30フレームでやらせてもらって良かったと思ってます。 沼田〇おかげでビジュアル的に柔らかい独特の雰囲気も出て、メモリをエフェクトやポリゴンにまわせるようになって、デザイナーとしてはいいことづくめって感じでしたね。 上田〇このゲームは、女の子と手をつないだりするでしょう。それが60フレームだと何だか生々しかったんですよ。 海道〇60フレームだと画面で見たときにシャープすぎて、いかにも今風のゲームという感じだったんです。ちょっとにの作品には違和感があったので、30フレームはベストの選択だったと思ってます。 細野〇30フレームでいろいろ表現できるようになったのはいいんですが、ある日、敵が飛んだのを見て凄いびっくりした（一同笑）。敵が飛ぶって話を聞いてなかったから、ある日出社したら、飛んでいてて「うわーこれはどういうことだー！？」と（笑）。 ―そうやって突然入った要素と言うのも結構あるんでしょうか？ 細野〇後期にブチ込んだものもかなりかなりありますね。敵が飛ぶことになったのもそうですし、ヒロインがヒントを出すことにしたのも、ほぼ最終段階になってからでした。先行して発売された海外版（※4）ではこのヒントが入ってないんです。 ※4 E3の後に北米で発売されたバージョン。パッケージはマッチョでアメリカーンな雰囲気。 洞谷〇海外版の話で言えば、2周目のオマケ要素なんかもありませんよね。スイカとか（笑）。 細野〇滝のところの水車もないんです。海外版では、水路の反対側に泳いで渡って、ハシゴを登って水門を閉じるようになっているんですよ。
A segmented line drawing of a woman holding a baby, source and artist unidentified.
ICO concept art, dated February 9th, 2000, depicting the upper level of East Arena, at the time called「牢屋」or "Prison". Step 7, though a bit difficult to read, says: "A path to the sword is blocked, as well as hidden, by a shelf."
An image of a detailed 3D model for a ringed barrel, in a black void. Text at the top of the image labels it "barrel (large)". Credit to former Team ICO member, ZackmannX, for creating the model and publicly providing this development image.
Various concept sketches of Ico pulling and pushing against a surface, the object appears to be a large barrel with rings along its bilge.
A screenshot of a cutscene from ICO. The camera tightly frames the boat that floats an unconscious Ico away from the crumbling Castle.
A screenshot of a cutscene from ICO. The camera frames a close up of Ico's head as he lies on the floor of Altar, unconscious.
A screenshot of Ico as he tumbles headfirst across the floor of the chamber.
A screenshot of Ico, looking down, seemingly in doubt.
An ICO free camera screenshot of an electric light wall sconce (sometimes called a wallchiere). Hanging from its drooping arm is a thin yellow crystal that ends in a verdant green tip.
An ICO screenshot taken with the free camera. A strange metal platform rests in the middle of the throne room's central path, right between the two Idol Statues. Two large square indents, separate yet bound together in a rectangle, stand out as its main feature.
A screenshot taken with the free camera in ICO's debug menu. It's a close up of the men guiding Ico into the castle as they ferry a boat off the shoreline. Two of the men wear armor, the helms of which have long curving horns that bend back and around, similar to certain species of sheep.
In a white void, two models stand. The one to the left, labelled 'sekizo01', is the typical Idol Gate prop, stripped of its textures. It has the posture of a person kneeling, their arms at rest on their knees, forming an alcove where a small horned child rests within. At this angle, you can notice a curved structure jutting out along the flat of its head. The one to the right, labelled 'sekizo_aura', is only found in The Queen's Chamber and, though at the same height, stands upright without any clear representation of arms or legs, only shoulders and waist. It's horns jut out horizontally, and lightly curve up just a bit.
A screenshot of ICO (PS2). Ico ascends a small set of steps towards the heart of the throne room. A great rolling fog obscures the figures of two idol statues, standing like stone guards in the lead-up to the dais.
Concept art from ICO's development. It shows a different means to solve the puzzle. The stage's box (here depicted as one of two boxes, with this one hidden among an expanse of tall grass) was meant to be pushed across a bridge to the other side of the waterway, and used as a platform to guide Yorda up to an 'Idol Stone', which then reveals the switch for the flood gate​.
A screenshot from ICO. The sluice waterway. As the stream flows past the partial grate and into the Waterfall stage, it passes to broken up slabs, adjoined to the rim of the water channel.
A screenshot from ICO (North American PS2 release). The interior of the building found in the Sluice map. A metal bar runs across the top of the frame, leading to the window you can escape from.
A LightWave3D render of a red sofa.
A cropped ICO storyboard. Page 5 of the current scene. Dated 6/7/2000. The 'A12' frame slot holds a sketch of Yorda's outstretched finger approaching Ico's perplexed face. In the margins, penned Japanese characters read: ムービにあった顔タッチ or "Face touch that matches with the movie"
Yorda, as seen in the pilot animation. She wears a leather headband with horns bending back and curving down.
As a pot bobs up and down in the rippling pond waters, the reflection of light off the water's surface streaks across the brickwork of the windmill. Shadows from Yorda's own body move across her dress as she idles on the stairs. Birds chirp occasionally across the soft wind ambience.
Ico, holding a pot in his hands, steps off a ledge into the pond of Windmill, and shockingly, the pot dips and floats on the surface of the water. A ripple on the water's surface accompanies the object's every movement, large and small.
A screenshot from the game ICO. The player character, Ico, is on the upper level of the Dark Room stage, standing by a broken rail as the camera points down to Yorda on the ground floor. She has picked up a pot from a group of four along the wall.
An animated GIF of The Queen from ICO (PS2). Framed in close-up, at a slight angle. She stares down at something past the camera's point of view, remaining silent and motionless. In contrast, the shadows that drape her head and shoulders flit and shift, forming rotating waves of pointed void that run in a loop.
A scan of two pages from ICO's English PAL manual. It includes the headers: "Exploring the fortress", "Looking for a way out", "Protecting Yorda", and "Saving game progress".
A screenshot from ICO. A high up shot of the castle's many structures and areas, as seen from the Trolley stage's lookout. Ico can be seen very distantly, with a hand raised to his forehead as though scoping out the view.
An ICO screenshot taken by the developers as promotional material, and rendered in high resolution. Ico's face is seen from a unique camera angle, behind him are the iron fences of the Sunbeams stage.
Jigen takes cover behind an outdoor dining table as gunfire impacts at the rim, just beside his shoulder.
Momo says: "I keep getting dragged into the strangest events!"
In the dead of night, a young child with bright pink hair looks to her companion with a finger pointed, matter of factly, in the air. A white bandana is wrapped around the lower half of her face, like a bandit. She says: "But kidnapping her is the best way to solve the problem!" This is the protagonist, Minky Momo.
A makeshift 3D render imitating the Windmill stage of ICO. The parapets and walls behind it incline up towards the sky. Faded into the far left is a ghostly close up shot of Yorda from the neck up.
A clipping from Page 111 of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, Issue 96. It shows a text red box next to a scaled up image of ICO's beta cover art. The art has Ico wearing a horned helmet his... despondent, puzzled look almost sliding off his face as he stares blankly into the middle distance. His bangs are thicker, to the point of having an almost 'play-doh' quality. Sporadic red rectangles and squares from the article's graphic design accidentally obscure Yorda's ghostly visage on the cover. Aside from these elements the cover remains the same as the final retail version. The text next to the image reads: "The Japanese version of ICO (in addition to having way better cover art than the U.S. release) features a special bonus: Upon completing the game, you can play through it again and see Yorda's subtitles translated into Japanese. This feature wasn't made available in the U.S. version, but a quick Google search will yield a fan-translated script. Still, maybe it's better not knowing what she says; after all, Ico and Yorda never understood a word the other said, but the bond between them was powerful nonetheless."
ICOのスクリーンショット。正門のすぐ上にある魔法の仕掛けを上空から捉えた画像。
Blaze: "The Sonic the Hedgehog I know was a hero. A paragon. He was as swift and free as the wind. He had no master, but fought for anyone and everyone. There was no challenge too great, no threat too dire that he wouldn't face without swagger and a smile."
Sonic IDW Issue #5. Mr. Tinker assures the children of Spiral Hill they'll be safe so long as they stay behind a makeshift barricade he's built for them out of tables. Mr. Tinker: "I-It'll be okay, everyone! The Chaotix are here! They'll protect us!" Child: "W-Will the robots find us in here?" Mr. Tinker: "Shhh! You just hide behind this barricade. Everything will be fine, I promise!" Mr. Tinker, turning to Sonic: "I'm sorry, I never caught your name. But if you can - will you help defend the village? I-I'm ashamed to say I'm too afraid to fight."
A full body, black and white sketch of The Queen, from ICO, lifting a large, curved glaive with one hand, gripped at its center of mass. Much of the pole extends behind her waist, and stops just short of impeding her shadowy cloak. Arcs of lightning streak around her body. The weapon is tilted at a slight angle, and she looks irritated with the viewer.
An overhead shot of Ico in the waterfall stage. His horns now point upward. There's a clear circle around the top of his head that gives way to a much lighter brown than the headpiece. That is where the headband ends and the bare sight of his head begins. There even seems to be a small bald spot at the very center of his scalp.