Hitokui no ôwashi toriko

I have been waiting for this game since the 2007 announcement and honestly never expected a masterpiece after all the development setbacks. At least finally know why it took this long. Team Ico never managed to get the core game mechanics to work, as I have no other way to describe the way the game fails to "work" at times. Most of the game revolves around making your companion Trico do the one thing that will get you to the next puzzle room and accomplishing that boils down to try and error. A 6-8 hour game thus becomes a 10-12 hour game. I would perfectly understand Trico having a mind of her own but that's not what went wrong here. A game with a heavy amount of climbing ultimately NEEDS to work when the right bottom is pressed and this isn't always the case here. You even get constant vocal cues on how to solve the next objective, as the developers seemed to understand that their own shortcomings. It's also noteworthy that the game looks like a PS3 game (outside of the highly scripted last hour), while playing like a PS2 game, but these are secondly concerns. More music would have helped too and the solid story is a bit more straightforward than I expected. The 2 much older predecessors are thus much better experiences in the end. Even the similar Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom for left me less frustrated but I can ultimately recommend the TLG to the right audience. It's highly unique, ambitious and you get to play as a "passive companion", as Trico ends up doing all the heavy lifting. Newcomers should get the Team Ico HD remasters for last gen first though. I ultimately wish that I could love the game but I only somewhat like it in the end. A shame, as Ico is one of my favorite games. 6,5/10

I am a huge fan of the The Shadow Of The Colossus and consider it as one of the best games ever so my hopes were really high for this game considering it was released by the same developer but what I played was a technically bankrupt game with the worst AI I have ever seen, the game is so dated that it actually put a lot of PS2 games to shame, the only positive thing is the lore but that is not enough to make a good video game, this game should have been a movie when I can sit back and enjoy the rather interesting story not a video game with most lacking and frustrating GAMEPLAY I have ever witnessed.5/10.

To this day, The Last Guardian is my favourite work of art/entertainment/storytelling for one simple reason:

The realism with which the process of trust-building is portrayed and implemented into the core mechanics and narrative.

No other arc is as important, or effective, as that of two beings learning to trust each other.

Sadly the most common critique for this title is that 'it does not control well'.

It seems to have completely soared over the heads of these people that that the boy's frantic, flapping (and yes, non-video gamey) and anxious animations,

As well as the stop-start, sometimes incongruous, and ultimately unknowable (in the same way that we could never fully control or predict the behaviour of a cat, for instance) behaviour of the creature,

Were not only designed intentionally that way,

But serve double-duty as powerful metaphors for the development of the title itself.

The boy *is* Fumito Ueda, and the beast *is* the game itself.

As we know from TLG's prolonged development, the boy/Fumito really and literally struggled with getting the beast/the game to go where he wanted it to go.

So much so that a whole other platform - a whole other approach - was needed.

This turning point, from PS3 to PS4, is actually noticeable in-game.

After about 5 hours of gameplay, one notices that the creature does respond more keenly to your cries. In turn, you as the young adventurer also have grown more patient of and respectful towards the creature,

Who is just as young and just as scared as you.

I believe this was the moment that Ueda and his team 'cracked' The Last Guardian - when developer/boy and game/beast stopped fighting each other,

And instead listened, compromised, and strived forward together.

Just revisiting my memories of the title makes me want to experience this singularly master-crafted work of art once again.

Could not recommend enough, but it is only for those who are patient and have the capacity for understanding, surrendering to and appreciating *not* being handed everything immediately, no-lag, give-it-to-me-right-now.

This title will one day be used (if it isn't already) to help people who have the obsessive need to control everything in their lives, or who have succumbed (as far to many of have) to entitlement and instant-gratification.

The Last Guardian gently and powerfully invites you to let go of what you think a video game should be (namely super snappy controls, for the impatient and simple), and allow yourself to be literally swept off on the back of an unforgettable adventure,

One that becomes more and more powerful each time you revisit it.

Team Ico seemed to have read the reviews for Shadow of the Colossus and made everything more extreme. The design and architecture was made much bigger than before! But the animal companion was made much more important and uncooperative than before! Whatever they were aiming for, it didn't work. Not worth the wait nor the frustration.

If you haven't played the last guardian yet? You should, "imo". Give yourself time in the beginning hours and it will definitely grow on you. By chapter 3 I was hooked, and I can honestly say I had an emotional attachment to both of the main characters and I cared about what was happening to them. For me this was a welcome feeling as I have been a gamer for !many! years and have not felt this way with any other game i have played.

It can be infuriating at times but keep at it, (sometimes camera angle and laboured controls) will test your patience. It's not perfect but it came pretty damn close for me.

I can't say too much as this review would contain spoilers, it's a short game that packs a punch.

One last thing, watch the end credits when you complete the game as it has a short fmv at the end.