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Ico (pronounced "ee-ko") is a 2001 action-adventure game exclusively released for the PlayStation 2. The game was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Synopsis

The player of the game takes on the role of Ico, a young boy born with a pair of horns, who must escort a princess named Yorda safely out of a castle without her being captured by the shadowy figures that prowl the castle or being killed by the castle's numerous environmental hazards. Receiving strong reviews, the game sold 650,000 copies worldwide and has become a cult hit among video game enthusiasts.

Ico is noted for its highly individual artistic style. Key factors contributing to the game's absorbing atmosphere include the lack of any HUD; a bleak and washed-out use of color; low key use of in-game music, played only in selected scenes of the game; and atmospheric, ambient sound effects in the background. It makes effective use of minimal dialogue and story to forge strong emotional connections with the characters and environments in the game. It includes action, adventure and puzzle elements. The game also has a notable fictional language which has been theorized to be backwards Japanese.

Story

The opening sequence of the game introduces the protagonist, Ico, a boy born with horns. Legend has it that when such a child is born, he must be sacrificed, or the land will be smitten by a terrible curse, in this case the village Ico was born is said to be cursed unless they send him away.

Ico is taken by a handful of knights to a castle, where they make their entrance by boat through a small cave. One of the knights takes a magical sword from the cave that opens a door leading into a great hall. Inside, stone sarcophagi line the walls. The knights reluctantly lock Ico inside one.

After the knights leave, the exit is sealed. This trembling loosens the sarcophagus, and as Ico shifts inside it, it falls over, freeing him. He passes out and dreams of a long spiral staircase in a tall room. Outside the windows are dark storm clouds, and at the top of the room a cage hangs, holding a pitch black figure of a small girl sits. As their eyes meet, Ico is consumed by shadows emerging from the wall behind him.

Ico wakes up later and eventually makes his way to the room he dreamt of. As he ascends the stairs, he sees the same cage, except now there is a pale girl, clad in white, inside it.

Ico frees the girl and they begin their journey, solving puzzles to progress through the castle. When they finally arrive at the open main gate, they set off happily for it. As they close in, however, the gate begins to close. Ico rushes for the door, hand in hand with the girl. As they near it, the girl stumbles and falls. In a cloud of darkness, a huge figure appears. The dark figure is the queen of the castle and reveals herself as the girl's mother. She tells her daughter: "Yorda, why can't you understand? You cannot survive in the outside world." Her appearance makes it clear that she controls the shadow monsters in the castle. The queen then disappears. The doors stay shut, so the couple tries seeks another way out of the castle.

After another puzzle-filled journey, Ico and Yorda manage to reach the bridge to leave the castle. The queen reappears and retracts the bridge, separating Ico and Yorda. Ico, determined to save Yorda from the castle, jumps the gap back toward the castle. He doesn't jump far enough but Yorda catches his hand. As she tries to help him onto the ledge, a dark shadow creeps over the landscape, petrifying Yorda. Ico has to let go of Yorda's hand, plunging into the sea.

Once Ico recovers he awakens on the rocky shore of the castle's island. After a short journey onto the rocks he finds the very cave where the knights took him. The magic sword is in the same place. The knights must have put the sword back after they used it to open the doors.

Ico enters the hall with the sarcophagi, to find the petrified Yorda displayed as a statue. Shadow ghosts appear and every time Ico defeats one of them, one of the sarcophagus's magic symbols glow. A stairway that leads out of the hall appears. The stairway leads the boy into a large but silent throne room.

The room appears empty, however when Ico decides to leave, the queen's voice calls him. When Ico turns back to see where the voice came from, the queen sits on her throne. Angry, Ico demands to know what the queen has done to Yorda. The queen replies that it is too late anyway and reveals her plans. The queen is aging and she wants to grant herself another life by seizing Yorda's body. Ico, desperate to undo what has been done, runs at her with his sword drawn. A battle follows, the magic sword shielding Ico from the queen's magic attacks. Finally Ico manages to reach the queen and plunge the sword into her heart. With her final breath, the queen tells Ico that Yorda will never leave the castle. In a magic blast the queen disappears and the castle begins to crumble. Due to the blast, Ico is flung through the room into the mysterious hall.

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Video games - Ico

Synopsis

Story

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