The Last Guardian

I watched an interesting video on the development of The Last Guardian where the creator, Fumito Ueda states that video games allow people to feel empathy. The video clip made me think about his statement regarding empathy which I rarely feel because most video games are designed for boys. Even though I share some similar traits such as finding satisfaction in conquering and defeating my enemies, I have always felt a disconnection between the playable male character and myself. For instance, while I empathize with the character Yorda from ICO and want to escort her to a safe place, I never found the urgency to protect her. Well, that’s because I never saw gender as an indication of fragileness.

*Feeling trapped and small is one thing but being trapped is another thing. We all need a helping hand from time to time.*

This got me thinking about why I enjoyed the Last Guardian more than Ico. It was a video game analysis of the Last Guardian by Game Overture that points out that the player was playing a supporting role which made a lot of sense since it’s Trico and not the boy that takes the spotlight in the game. As time goes on, we see the mystical, frightening but child-like creature becoming stronger and stronger whereas we see the boy becoming weaker and weaker as he takes on the subservient role.

boy giving food to the injured Trico — *Here is your food…”.Say ahh*.”

boy holding trico poop — *Yes, the green goo is Trico’s poo!*

As I mentioned in my non-spoiler review, I love this game and feel more deeply connected to it than Ico and Shadow of Colossus. I wonder why. Then I realized it has to do with my personality. While I’m quite capable of making quick decisions, I rather reserve my energy in the background problem-solving than take the spotlight in the frontline. Thus, playing as the “defenseless boy” in this game produces a familiar experience. If the theory about playing as a supporting character is correct, then the game is not about making the player feel like he or she is the Chosen One. There is nothing unique and special about the boy. He and the other Chosen Ones happen to be the unfortunate ones who are captured for human sacrifice. Well, depending on your worldview, I suppose it’s an honor. Dig a little bit deeper, this game is an allegory of the business side of game development exploiting children to keep a business running. How did I come to this conclusion? It is not until toward the end of this innocent, dream-like journey of great teamwork that comes to a dark twisted turn. It made me wonder why was I protecting the predator in the first place. The boy could have left the poor creature alone shackled up in a cave. Yet he decided to save him anyway. Was he trying to be a hero? No, he simply just has a good heart like most children. He didn’t even know that he is a sacrifice until later on.

He’s a good kid. That is why I find it so shocking when players complained about playing as the awkward boy. He moves funny. He waits on Trico to save him several times. As a result, it’s frustrating and the gameplay makes the player feels small; therefore, the game is not as impressive as its predecessors. The boy is not badass enough. He doesn’t take on giant colossus. Instead, he babysits a giant baby! Okay not quite (I’m assuming Trico is a kid because of his child-like behavior). But let’s get this straight, according to the creator’s interview, he was purposely designed to be independent, which makes sense to me. The story wouldn’t be as effective if it revolves around the defenseless boy (who I can’t recall even has a name which I can only speculate it was a modest decision on the creator’s part). In this game, players don’t get to be the hero of the day. Instead, he or she gets to witness a hero in action. I find the concept to be quite ingenious and refreshingly humbling.

Boy pulling down the level to open the gate for Trico — What’s so bad about playing as a gate opener? It’s so gentlemen-like.

So, I wonder what sort of person doesn’t like this game. Would it have made a difference if they were to play an all-powerful man-eating-fearing beast? Surely, the boy is braver than Trico on many occasions. Ironically, it’s his naiveness that makes him naturally more confident about finding his way home than Trico who seems lost inside his own home, which reminds me of a giant cage. Trico may be strong but he also needs guidance, which is why he is controlled by signals and waves from within the valley in the first place. Yet, he and his kind are not to be mistaken as dispensable slaves because the creatures do seem to be revered and respected as important residents of the valley based on the buildings’s architecture.

trico standing by the door — *If you look closely, the entire place is designed around griffin-like creatures.* *Look at the size of the door.*

This made me ponder who are the real captives in the game. Is it Trico and his kind or the boy along with the other chosen ones? Some people say it’s the boy and some say it’s Trico. There is no clear answer because the creator wants the player to decide for themselves. As for me, the logical answer is both of them. They are the last guardians who put the sadistic cycle of the god-like entity Master of the Valley to an end, which the more I think about it–might not even be all that evil because we don’t know its full story. For all we know, it’s trying to maintain order and balance despite sacrificing children in the process.

Trico versuses other beasts — *The world does feel like a dog-eat-dog type of place when you have to compete for resources.*

Despite its grim plot, I find this game emotionally comforting. It’s a story about growth, loyalty, friendship, and ultimately what it means to be a leader. It’s all the little spices that make life worth fighting for. It’s nice to know that in this dog-eating world, there is compassion. A good friend will always try to catch you if you fall because life, as we know it, can be quite rough.

References:

Game Masters: Fumito Ueda Interview
The Last Guardian | A New Perspective for Gaming by Game Overture
The Last Guardian creator: ‘I can’t face playing my own game’
Picture of Yorda in a cage: Team Ico Wiki
All other pictures were taken from my playthrough

I remember I sort of looked over The Last Guardian despite the fact I have played ICO and Shadow of Colossus and enjoyed them very much. Somehow, I was distracted by Dark Souls III, which was released earlier that year and unfortunately I did not enjoy it as much. Also, I remember I was anticipating the release of Nier Automata in Feb. 2017–that too I didn’t enjoy as much. I think I was just burnt out from work and personal life to enjoy games despite my best effort to play them. If I were in the right mental state, I think I would have picked up The Last Guardian on launch day.

Patience is really a virtue. The game took 9 years to develop and it did not fail to meet my expectation. In fact, I love it so much more than ICO and Shadow Colossus. They were great games but they didn’t deliver an emotional punch like how this game did to me: 1) I love puzzles; 2) I love animals; 3) I love exploring; 4) I love ancient civilizations; and 5) I love the solitary atmosphere. But most importantly, it’s in its execution that made this game an overall powerful experience. I sympathize with the beast-like creature, Trico! He is the ultimate pet. Sometimes he reminds me of a dog,cat,bird,ferret,duck, rat etc. He is a special creature indeed.

Tricois free from shackles — We are free now! Not really….

You can already tell that my review of this game is already heavily biased. So, instead of writing a traditional review where I review “objectively”, I will write a review in response to the AI’s review for this game using the AI experimental paragraph:

The Last Guardian certainly stands out from the crowd, and it’s no wonder that it’s one of the most talked about games of the year. It’s an emotionally engaging experience and one that doesn’t provide a “gaming experience” as much as provide a narrative journey. The game follows the young boy, Trico and his unlikely ally, the guardian from a long-forgotten civilization. Together, they must make their way across a ruined world filled with obstacles, puzzles and danger. Even with its narrative strengths, The Last Guardian sadly has more than its fair share of faults. The most glaring of these is that it is a puzzle game at heart and the player must often spend more time working out how to make their way through the game’s puzzles than they do actually playing it. The puzzles themselves are often creative and interesting, but the lengthy process of trial and error can become tiresome at times. Additionally, while the later sections of the game are visually impressive, the game as a whole cannot compare to other adventures in the genre in terms of cinematography, visuals or sound.

The story of The Last Guardian can be credited for being extremely well written, as the main characters, the boy and Trico, go on a journey through a beautiful yet dangerous world along with the help of their new-found bond. With the boy being mute, the game does an amazing job of conveying the inner motives of Trico and vice versa. The puzzle-solving element of this game is also enjoyable, though at times it can be a little difficult, with some solutions seeming quite unreasonable or overly-complicated.

I must say I am pretty impressed with the AI’s review, but did the AI really play the game? I could have just left it there for the AI to do all the work but that defeats the purpose of this blog. I enjoy writing and crafting blog posts. Plus, the AI don’t speak for me entirely on how I feel toward this game. For one, I don’t see this game as inferior to other cinematic, adventure games. While I enjoyed the Last of Us and Until Dawn to some extent, I am not all that into cinematic games because I find them lacking in the gameplay department, which is an important factor in a video game to me. Secondly, I did not find the puzzles in The Last Guardian tiresome, complicated, or lengthy. The pacing of the game was quite nice and seamless (if you know how to solve the puzzles). Compared to Shadow of Colossus, this game is quite generous. In Shadow of Colossus, you have to know when to push X and R2 to grab onto the colossus on top of the fact you have to know how to get to its weak spot. The only challenging thing about The Last Guardian gameplay I can think of is executing the command to Trico. Sometimes he doesn’t always follow through. There were times when I got motion sickness from moving the camera to find clues on where to go next, and there were times I simply had to take a break because my mind couldn’t think clearly (I noticed when my mind is recharged, the puzzles are easier to solve). Despite that, it’s not entirely a bad experience. In fact, I found myself smiling and being charmed by Trico more than feeling frustrated. So, when the game did end, I did cry. It was hard to part with the beast-like creature who gave me a memorable, fond experience.

So, to celebrate some special moments with this game, I am attaching some pictures from my playthrough which don’t even do justice to how great the game is. If you haven’t played this game, give it a try. or if you don’t have access to Playstation, you can also watch someone stream on Youtube. The game is a masterpiece. Now, I am looking forward to the developer’s next project. Hopefully, during the time of its release, I won’t be too distracted by other major titles and that I am in the right mental state. I believe all creative works derserve careful attention. Well, as a blogger that is what I would like from my readers.