#wanda to kyozou

[easternmind]

Etched into stone

Here and there, over the last 18 years, I have written most everything I ever wished to write about Wanda To Kyozou. However, I don't believe I've discussed how influential Isao Takahata's 1968 film Taiyō no Ōji Horusu no Daibōken was to Ueda's work, this game in particular.

Before anything else, I'd like to establish a certain degree of verité. This classic animation has not only been mentioned by Ueda on a few occasions, the actual DVD can be seen in the booklet included with the Japanese limited edition of the game's re-release on the PS3.

From its size to the manner in which it moves, there are several similarities between the colossi and Mōgu, especially the first of them all, Valus. Notice the birds hovering above their heads.

Mōgu is a gentle titan afflicted by a splinter in his shoulder. Horus discovers that the splinter is in fact the magical sword of the sun. Rooted in Arthurian legend, pulling it out mirrors the necessary force which Wander needs to exert to inflict damage on a colossus.

Horus' sword of the sun also suggests an interesting link with Wander's ancient sword, in that both blades are able to magically gather light as a defining characteristic.

Horus defeats a giant pike using his axe and spears, a confrontation not without its share of parallels with Hydrus'. While this 7th colossus is more dragon than fish-like, the combat requires holding fast to the creature as it submerges. Also, early concepts showed Wander carrying a spear.

A more speculative connection, perhaps, is that of the villain Grunwald. Despite being an average-sized human, the first scenes of the film depict him as a giant on the horizon. The presence of horns alone is noteworthy, more so in combination with his shining eyes.

On a final note, the film's influence is just as discernible in Ico. Yorda (Yoruda) shares many resemblances with Hilda (Hiruda), including their inherent special abilities, their family bond with a villain representing absolute evil, as well as the resulting internal conflicts.

To conclude, I would merely like to add that this relationship between the two works operates at both a conscious and unconscious level. If Ueda watched this film as a child, the above connections become all the more relevant because they speak of a process of long-term assimilation, where the visual themes and concepts of the film acted as a formative reference for the author.

#wanda to kyozou #shadow of the colossus #fumito ueda #isao takahata #horus prince of the sun #太陽の王子 ホルスの大冒険 #Taiyō no Ōji Horusu no Daibōken #ワンダと巨像 #ico

[vento-aureo]

I haven’t had a chance to express how elated I feel about the Shadow of the Colossus remake here on my tumblr, but I don’t think I can put the feeling into words no matter how I try. This game has been a part of my life since it came out in 2005, and the impression it had on me then has held true over the years. I cosplayed Wander for the first time in 2009. It was the first big project that required so much in-depth research and attention to detail but I’m still happy with it, for the most part, to this day. At Ohayocon that year, I won’t Best in Show Craftsmanship with this piece. I had a few different photo shoots with this costume over the years. Solo, in different locations. With my friend’s horse who played as Agro, and on a separate occasion with my friend Julie who did a splendid portrayal as Mono. Also with several photographers - Consplayers, Benny Lee, Nicolai Andrews and RisingSun. Thanks to all involved for the memories.

#shadow of the colossus #team ico #ico #shadow of the colossus cosplay #wander #wanda to kyozou #wanderer #gendesign #cosplay #mono #agro

[bukrut]

más no stickers

#wanda to kyozou #shadow of the colossus #fanart

[missing-n0]

NICO: Roar of the Earth, Prologue - To The Ancient Land [wip]

The wind skirled down the mountain pass like a wail. It whipped at the dark cloak about his shoulders, at the black mane of his horse, at the grey shroud covering the limp form cradled in his arms. It howled against the sheer cliff to his right, and threatened to tug Wander off his mount and the narrow path they trod—to pluck him from the rock face and cast him, helpless, down into the void yawning at his left.

The path was weathered and worn, treacherous, broken in places, covered in loose stones. An ancient way, unused for centuries: this was the road to the Forbidden Kingdom, where the Elders said demons still strode the earth. By the laws of both gods and men it was death to tread here. All living folk feared this place, and even exiled and hunted men shunned these shadowy vales beyond the southern hills. But perhaps Wander was no longer amongst the living. His heart had perished in the same hour as Mono; his limbs simply did not realize it yet.

The Elders had proclaimed her fate cursed. They had sacrificed her to their blood-bathed gods. Her closest friend, he was brought before them when he returned with the warriors. A sweet death, Elder Emon had assured him. A mercy, he called it. Deceivers, murderers all. They had killed her, had sealed her fate with a word. Their words were poison. 

He had howled, and cursed, and spat at their feet. Such actions were heresy, punishable by death in their own right. Part of him had wished for that. The other part wanted to throttle them all for their crime, to kill them right then and there with his own two hands. But the elders had merely feigned sympathy for his grief, and called for him to be removed from the hall.

He had been tossed bodily out into the dirt. He was relieved of his duties for his insolence. He was given free reign of the village, but forbidden to visit Mono’s bier, which was the only place he had any desire to be. A sentry was stationed before the door to the temple night and day to deny him entry, until such time arrangements could be made for the body to be burned, as was the custom of their people.

Wander had raged for a day and a night, and then despaired for twice as long again, but eventually his resolve overcame his grief. He had been in the woods beyond the village, weeping to the heavens, half praying to the gods and half cursing them, when the madness took him. A hawk was circling high above, a shadow passing through the canopy of leaves. He recalled then the story of the giant hawks that had once soared amongst the clouds over the Ancient Land. Hawks who were said to have served as the messengers of the gods, and who warned the people of the wicked nature of the king who claimed to rule over life and death.

(to be continued ... )

#sotc #nico ch0 #shadow of the colossus #wanda to kyozou #fanfic

[fyeahrpgmusic]

Liberated Guardian ~Battle With the Colossus - Shadow of the Colossus

#shadow of the colossus #wanda to kyozou

[easternmind]

'Shadow of the Colossus' was first released in the US on October 18th 2005, nine days before the Japanese edition, 'Wanda To Kyozou'. A similar-looking Chinese version was distributed on the 25th of that same month, its title concealing a small mystery that remains unsolved to this day.

While the cover logotype reads 'Wangda yu Juxiang', or "Wander and the Colossus", after the original Japanese name, its romanization, as printed on the manual cover, reads "Shadow AND the Colossus" - an unexpected hybrid of the Western and Japanese titles.

The same can be found on the disc itself, ruling out a mere printing blunder. Perhaps the package designer borrowed the word "Shadow" to create a parallel with the game's international title, one directed at the English-speaking Hong Kong market, but in the end neglected to change "and" for "of"?

#shadow of the colossus #wanda to kyozou #ps2 #China #Hong Kong #Romanization #videogame packaging #sony #team ico

[easternmind]

The picture of Fumito Ueda at his office in 2014 comes from the 'Material Book' included in the 'Hitokui no Ōwashi Trico First Limited Edition'. I've browsed this booklet a few times in the past but I failed to notice some of its interesting details. As you can see in the top left corner of his Kallax shelves, Ueda keeps an Atari Lynx, as well as what appears to be a Game Gear. On the right, there is a big box copy of Psygnosis' 1991 game 'Lemmings', which is consistent with what we know of his younger self's gaming preferences as an admitted Amiga user. And, as would be expected, he keeps his own game-related books at the bottom left, where I can discern the 'Wanda to Kyozou' artbook as well as the Kodansha's original edition of Miyuki Miyabe's novel 'Ico Castle in the Mist'. There's also a Star Wars book, of course.

#fumito ueda #gen design #Hitokui no Ōwashi Trico #first limited edition #atari lynx #lemmings

[bukrut]

#shadow of the colossus #wanda to kyozou #demake #gaming #game & watch #nintendo #ico #i don't own the original picture of the handheld - i just edited it

[missing-n0]

NICO: Roar of the Earth, Preface

Info:

This is an ongoing fanfiction project for Team Ico's Shadow of the Colossus. For those of you familiar with the Ico novelization, Castle in the Mist, this will (hopefully) follow a similar vein. The overall plot will remain the same, though some details may be changed around, and more will be added along the way. There are 18-20 planned chapters, one for each colossus, separate starting and ending chapters, as well as a prologue and epilogue. I may swap out a couple of the colossi for beta counterparts depending on the dynamics of writing each battle scene, the journeys in between, etc. Name comes from Team Ico's development code name for SotC and the name of the game's OST, and is patterned after Castle in the Mist's title format. Please keep in mind when reading that this is a personal project and I am not a professional writer. Feedback is welcome however. 

Index:

Prologue: To the Ancient Land

Part 1

#sotc #nico pre #shadow of the colossus #wanda to kyozou #fanfic

[bukrut]

photosux

#papercraft #wanda to kyozou #shadow of the colossus #video game #8 bit #NES #low poly #3d #team ico #ICO #demake #wander #colossus #famicom

[easternmind]

Special NICO DVD

As if a celebration of the release of Wanda To Kyozou in October 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment prepared a rare treat for all the Japanese players who pre-ordered a copy of the game. Under the unassuming title NICO, this special DVD contained a number of video clips with footage from both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus games. Still, two gems shone brighter from within this disc's exclusive contents: the video montage of Ico's first build on the PlayStation and the footage of its aptly named sequel Nico, none other than the prototype game from which Wanda To Kyozou derived.

Most of the materials from the DVD were already revealed to the public some years ago. Recently, I've come to realize that the majority of these videos were uploaded using older compression methods for faster streaming at the cost of a great loss of quality. And while the original footage contained in the Special NICO DVD - see the list of its full contents here - is often of a low resolution, there was clearly some room for improvement. My natural conclusion was that the time was right to provide larger and better quality scans of the exquisite cover art as well as some of the unique images printed in the DVD's booklet and the disc itself. Additionally, I've also selected the finest videos from the disc and converted them into AVI files that can either be viewed online or downloaded with almost lossless quality.

~ IMAGE SELECTION ~

Booklet cover

Inside the booklet

Nico Disc

  ~ VIDEO SELECTION ~

Download video file (107 MB)

Download video file (12 MB)

Download video file (110 MB)

Download video file (128 MB)

#Wanda To Kyozou #Ico #Nico #DVD #Scans #Video #Fumito Ueda #Shadow of the Colossus