Ico

steve_k

CAGiversary!
I bought ICO from Sears in January 2003 for $10. I played it, beat it, loved it, and now it resides in my collection with the rest of my games in excellent condition.

I noticed this game is selling on Ebay for ridiculous prices. I've even seen a 'buy it now' for a sealed ICO for $200.

What's the deal with this? Is ICO considered a collectible game or something?
 
ICO is a cult classic. It didn't go for much until Shadow of the Colossus (its spiritual successor) was announced and prices spiked. After that, it held it's value fairly well.

But now that they announced The Last Guardian, it's once again gaining popularity and therefore, its value is going up again.
 
[quote name='steve_k']I've even seen a 'buy it now' for a sealed ICO for $200.

[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I'm guessing no one will buy that one.
 
[quote name='i_bent_my_wookie']People on eBay [are] stupid.[/QUOTE]

I actually had a new copy in-hand at a local Fry's Electronics store a couple of years ago; marked for $9.99. Read the back of the box, didn't have any idea about the collectibility, and thought it was too similar to Prince of Persia for my taste, so I put the last copy back down.

Yes, I am too. :cry:
 
[quote name='Mospeada_21']I actually had a new copy in-hand at a local Fry's Electronics store a couple of years ago; marked for $9.99. Read the back of the box, didn't have any idea about the collectibility, and thought it was too similar to Prince of Persia for my taste, so I put the last copy back down.

Yes, I am too. :cry:[/QUOTE]
I am more stupid because I did know how great it was and thought it might be worth quite a bit more in a few years, also figured I would even profit off it immediately if sold, and I still passed it up. The only consolation is that I did already own a used copy.
 
I'm stupider than all of you. I got the game free from a friend who didn't like it. I played it for a while, loved it, but traded it in to GameStop because you could get TEN WHOLE DOLLARS for it.

What a deal. Humph.
 
I've owned both games (Ico/SOTC), and I agree about the ebay fools selling it at stupid prices. I can find this game anywhere with my eyes closed for under $15..... God I love Bookman's.
 
I bought the game the day it was released, and I've been annoyingly smug about that fact ever since.

And no, I will never part with it.
 
[quote name='CloverField06']Gamestop just raised the price ten dollars to 29.99[/QUOTE]
Well, they jack up their price since they look at ebay.
 
It really is a great game. I had a sealed copy, and then an opened copy from Goozex. I played it through and then sold the sealed copy for around $75 and the open copy for $30.
 
[quote name='PuppetYuber']Just out of curiousity, did everyone's ICO came in blue bottom disk? (CD-ROM format) ?[/QUOTE]

yep
 
It's just one of those games that got hyped up way after it's been released. It is good. But $200? No.
 
[quote name='pfchang']It's just one of those games that got hyped up way after it's been released. It is good. But $200? No.[/QUOTE]

You can pick up a used copy for a lot less. There are worst game that cost more for a sealed copy.
 
[quote name='62t']You can pick up a used copy for a lot less. There are worst game that cost more for a sealed copy.[/QUOTE]

Even though it sells for $40-$60 used it is a more interesting and original game than most of the next-gen titles that cost around the same amount. I purchased a copy for less than $10 used awhile back, this game used to be dirt cheap pretty much everywhere. In fact BJ's in Spring 2006 was stocked with factory sealed copies for $12 something each.
 
What a beautiful game. Easily my favorite game of all-time. Whenever the 'games as art' debate comes up, my one answer in that argument is 'Ico'.

The biggest travesty in video game history is the US cover art. I remember seeing this game around the PS2's launch, in a Circuit City kiosk. But at the time, I had no idea as to the name of the game -- the visuals just so happened to catch my eye, as I was browsing the aisle. I remember being so impressed by the lighting effects (I still am) and the cinematic, minimalist presentation. The character animations reminded me of my favorite childhood games: Another World (also called Out of this World) and Prince of Persia. Had I owned a PS2 at the time, I would've found out the name of the game in the kiosk, and left the store with a copy. Unfortunately, I didn't. And to make matters worse, when I finally did acquire a PS2, I was so disgusted with the generic box art, upon stumbling across the game, that I didn't give it a thought. "Who would ever make a game, about a generic white kid with a viking helmet and a blanket wrapped around his neck? This reminds me of the Mega Man box art." I figured the game couldn't have possibly been good and moved on.

That all changed when Shadow of the Colossus was announced. My roommate brought home a demo of it, and i found out that it was by the same team that produced Ico. After looking up the game on the internet, I finally learned that this hideous box contained that beautiful, mysterious game I had accidentally discovered, all those years ago.

And so began my four year journey of hunting down a copy of the game. I finally stumbled upon a mint condition copy at GameStop (not a single flaw or blemish) and played through the entire game in a single sitting, with giant can headphones.

The most impressive aspect of this game, was its ability to make me care about Yorda. I never once became angry with her actions, nor did I feel that the game had been programmed to be artificially hard because of her limitations. It all felt very natural to me. I felt like the courageous little boy, defending the helpless neighbor girl, in a battle against imaginary monsters. It probably didn't help that Ico's primary weapon was a giant stick -- my weapon of choice, as a child.

I'd never seen another game like this. No other game, to my knowledge, was able to bring a character to life through subtle personality quirks. Yorda likes birds. She will often turn her head to admire the birds when walking by them. And if you leave her untethered, she will even jump at them, or chase them around a room -- without a care in the world.

And that's what drove me, through the entire game: my love - Ico's love - for this innocent girl, who couldn't possibly save herself. I really did care about saving her. I couldn't understand a thing she said to me, which made the animations, the physics, and the emotion all the more important. And even after so many years, I still feel like Ico is a timeless classic, which stands the test of time.

It's a masterpiece of a game, well worth the measly $20 I spent. I'm glad that I finally figured out the name of that mysterious game at the kiosk. Most importantly, Ico made me feel like a kid again. And I wish there were more games like that.

Needless to say, I'm all the more excited for The Last Guardian.
 
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I have played all of those games, sir. And quite ironically, I found a mint copy (black label) of Heart of Darkness that same week, at a local game shop. I had been hunting for that game for years, and again, got away with highway robbery ($20). It's such a great idea, sadly hindered by the technology of the time. The CG movies were just simply too generic - created in that 'ReBoot' style of early 90s computer animation. I can only imagine what this game would've looked like, had they been able to produce Pixar-quality visuals. But even with the bad CG, it's still a great childhood tale (and gruesome, for those of you who haven't played it). Excellent game, as expected from Eric Chahi. One of the great treasures of the PlayStation era.

Hilariously enough, I was actually put off by the cover art (again), as a kid. I remember reading through EGM and thinking that the game looked like a low-budget attempt to sucker young kids out of their money. Oh, how wrong I was. Sadly, I never learned that this was Eric Chahi's next big game (game designers weren't exactly superstars, back then). I was exposed to 'artsy' games at a young age, and was a huge fan of Another World; so I would've absolutely adored this game.

You live, you learn. But it goes to show you just how important every aspect of packaging and marketing truly is.

I must say, that I've always kind of held a grudge against Flashback. It's a decent game (I used to rent it, frequently), but I feel that it detracts from Another World; so much to the point where people seem to think that Flashback is the grandfather game in that genre (which I will refer to as 'rotoscoped player-insta-death-sims'). I view Eric Chahi as sort of a visionary and major innovator in games, along with Jordan Mechner. And sadly, Chahi doesn't seem to get a lot of credit for that work (which is mistakenly given to Flashback). I've even heard conversations where people will say, "Yeah, Flashback. You know, that game where you find an alien buddy who helps you escape a prison?" Perhaps it is wrong of me to hold it against the game, but I hope you understand what I'm saying. People often confuse the two games, and almost always attribute the innovative design to Flashback. It would sort of be like an entire nerd populace praising Star Trek for the amazing Death Star Trench Run scene.

Fade to Black (the sequel to Flashback) was a game that I was only able to play as a PC demo, way back when 3DFX cards weren't very common (my PC could barely run the game). It looked interesting (sort of an innovative game for the third-person genre), but I haven't had enough time to really judge it.

Blackthorne was a game that really excited me as a kid. I remember renting it for the Genesis and being so impressed by the violence of the shotgun. I never could beat it, but I did have a lot of fun studying the detailed animations. But going back and trying to play it today, I feel like the game is extremely limiting and frustrating. I do not feel as though it has aged well.

I don't know. There's just something about stories that tell the tale of an adventuring kid that get me. It reminds me of the stories I'd write as a child, or of the imaginary battles I'd have in the woods with some friends, fighting off monsters with makeshift armor suits. And in an age where every game consists of "Nice! Scratch one grub!", I'm hoping that I'm not the only person that feels this way. I'm hoping that The Last Guardian sells ten million copies and warrants a follow-up, as well as competing games.
 
I absolutely agree with everything you said, and you reflect my own thoughts very closely, especially about Flashback getting more credit than it deserves compared to Out of This World & Eric Chahi being one of the most underrated game makers ever. Sadly I never got to play Heart of Darkness or Fade to Black yet. Blackthorne was a fine game for its time, but can't compare to OotW or FB, especially now.
 
Not to derail the topic too far -- but I really do hope that we see a resurgence of that genre of games, just like we have with Metroidvania-style games with Shadow Complex.

Maybe even Eric Chahi can step in and design a new one (though, perhaps he feels that even a genre he basically created has stagnated). It's probably difficult for him to gather investors for an ambitious game, though. I don't think Heart of Darkness sold particularly well, unfortunately.

That said, Heart of Darkness is definitely worth playing, if you had any interest in Another World. It feels very much like a spiritual successor (more than Heart of the Alien - the decent sequel for the Sega CD, which Chahi was not directly involved in). I would briefly describe it as Another World meets Dragon's Lair. I mention the latter (which is a terrible game, on almost all accounts), simply because of the incredible (and gruesome) animations which remind me of those in Dragon's Lair, by the master, Don Bluth. If you're a fan of pixel-based games with phenomenal animation, I would highly recommend at least watching someone play it.
 
I forget about Heart of the Alien all the time and then every few years I remember it and tell myself I need to buy a Sega CD to play that game. I would love to see any of Chahi's work show up on PSN/XBLA, Another World 15th Anniversary Edition would be a perfect fit. I hope he shows something from his new game soon. I think he should make games for PSN/XBLA where he can not worry about budgets/marketing and be very creative.

Now I feel like buying the Oddworld games too lol. I purposely ignored them so I'd still have that type of game to play in the future, it's about time.
 
You know, I was always put off by the Oddworld character design. But part of me was always reminded of Another World when looking at the game in magazines. So whenever I remember those games, part of me regrets not having played them.

Maybe I'll see about tracking those down, some day...
 
Oh, and just out of curiosity: does anyone have a super high-res scan of the PAL box art (the whole slip would be nice) of ICO? I'm thinking about making my own custom case for it, as the US box art is an abomination.

Also, I never figured out if its possible to translate Yorda's subtitles. I remember reading something about it happening on the second playthrough of the PAL version? Does anyone with the US version know how to display her subtitles in English? I don't believe it can, but it never hurts to double-check.

I read somewhere that if you complete the game 8 times (fill all save blocks with the last save point), then you start the game with the energy sword? This then allows you to unlock some sort of alternate ending?

Well, here I go. Time to beat it seven more times. :D


P.S. The new God of War bundle (PS3 re-release, trophy support, 720p 60fps, higher resolution textures @ $40) makes me cry inside, at the prospect of a similar Team Ico bundle with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. If there's one thing Sony should do in this world, it's creating that package.
 
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[quote name='anticulture']You know, I was always put off by the Oddworld character design. But part of me was always reminded of Another World when looking at the game in magazines. So whenever I remember those games, part of me regrets not having played them.

Maybe I'll see about tracking those down, some day...[/QUOTE]
Same here, although it's grown on me over time.

The God of War bundle is actually $40 I believe. If I could see the same type of treatment to a PS2 series that was published by Sony... hmm... other than Ico/SOTC, it would be... dunno. Will have to think about that one.
 
I bought my PS2 for Ico on its release day. My friends couldn't understand then. They sure as hell do now.

I was also a huge fan of Flashback and Out of This World.
 
Picked up my copy at Hollywood Video used for $4. It was disc only, but its not like I was missing much with the horrible case art. Worth every bit of that $4.
 
[quote name='i_bent_my_wookie']Gamestop will occasionally have them in stock for around $20. This game is not that rare. People on eBay or stupid.[/QUOTE]

I am stupid, happily so, as I grabbed it off of ebay for $50 recently. I remember seeing it for under $10 years ago on store shelves. Hindsight, ugh!:oops:
 
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