Review: Shadow of the Colossus

An atmospheric masterclass of game design

Could Shadow of the Colossus be considered an early example of how video games can be accepted as an art form? An intense attention to detail, supported by a drive for minimalistic design and bolstered by a powerful orchestral score creates a game which isn’t just memorable, but a must play for anyone that loves video games, and a shining example of what video games can provide uniquely as an interactive medium.

Set in a expansive yet empty world, the Shadow of the Colossus has a simple premise – Wander, a young warrior, crosses the bridge to what is only known as the Forbidden Land with the lifeless body of a young woman named Mono. An entity of unknown intent named Dormin greets him, promising he can bring back Mono if you slay the sixteen colossus who roam the land, but will pay a great price for doing so. Together with his horse, Agro, he sets off a journey to slay the colossi and save the lifeless girl.

Character relations and motivations are never given much depth beyond this, instead opting for the player to make those connections in their own minds. Why does Wander want to save Mono so desperately? Was it his fault? What kind of bond do these characters share? It’s undeniable that by the end of the story, I felt invested in Wander and Agro because of the adventure we took together. But your input as the player is essential in creating a connection to this world – you share the struggle of Wander, but can only watch as he takes punishment for his actions helplessly.

The Forbidden Land is beautifully realised as a lonely, atmospheric place, backed up with very impressive draw distance considering its original 2005 release, with framerate issues fixed on the new PlayStation 3 port. Ground quakes and shifts with each step from the colossi, and a dynamic physics engine creates realism in the weight of each movement, with Wander helplessly swinging back and forth on the back of the monsters. Loading times are cleverly disguised, leading to a seamless experience which continually draws you in. This is one of the most beautiful PlayStation 2 titles ever created, and its PlayStation 3 port holds up very well for its generation jump.

It can be said that Shadow of the Colossus thinks about every aspect of its minimalist design intensely. The world is devoid of life outside of the sixteen boss battles – no enemies to fight, no items to find, and no side quests to complete. Because of this black and white approach to the game’s design, polish is at its highest here. Every aspect of the game feels well thought out purposely crafted for a reason. Each monster fought is different from the last and needs different tactics to take down. Everything in this game world has a purpose and reason for being there.

The meat of the gameplay comes down to two parts – travelling on horseback across the fields of the Forbidden Land, and epic battles against the (mostly) gigantic colossus. Fighting these creatures is dramatic and intense, with beautiful building orchestra empowering every moment. But moments riding on Agro are relaxed and fuelled by ambience, wind howling faintly behind the rhythmic sound of his hooves. The juxtaposition provides ample relief between the showdowns, complementing the other fantastically and giving the player to time take in the environment and the progress of the adventure thus far. The sound design here is almost faultless and still packs its punch 11 years on.

The game’s mechanics are introduced through a simple short cliff section where the player learns about the most essential controls before facing off against the first enemy. A circular grip gauge sits above the player’s health bar, which depletes the longer you stay held to a colossus. There’s a great underlying tension in trying to manage your grip gauge while trying to find the perfect moment to attack the enemy. You can opt for reliable, smaller strikes or a large, fully charged impalement, the latter granting great satisfaction with each successful blow.

Each colossus battle plays out like a boss fight, a puzzle which the player needs to solve to reach the weak spot of the enemy. Using the environment, the sword and the bow and arrow, Wander must climb to shining symbols scattered across the giant creature’s bodies and use his blade to damage them. The solution can be as simple as waiting for an opening to knock them down to navigating a platforming structure so you can find your opening to leap onto their bodies. Each colossus is unique in its weaknesses and method of approach, giving great variety to each encounter.

What’s more is that killing a colossus results in what is likely a varying amount of satisfaction from player to player. These creatures feel alive and unique – though overcoming them is a feat in itself, there’s an air of melancholy in your victory. Congratulatory music has a dramatic yet sad note to it, and each victory ends with a seemingly painful transportation back to the shrine. As each statue crumbles with victory and lights of fallen colossus shine in the sky, this abandoned world slowly feels more and more empty. This melancholy follows you throughout the entirety of the journey.

Surprisingly, your visit to the Forbidden Land never feels cut short. The conclusion is well paced, arriving naturally, never seeking to extend its welcome for the sake of padding. The final moments of the game are bittersweet and heartbreaking, and players of Ico can recognise where certain elements which bond these two games together are placed. It’s an undeniably memorable, engaging, yet simple story which is given gravitas thanks to the player and their role in the outcome.

Verdict

Shadow of the Colossus is a game which lets the gameplay tell its story. It has tight, well designed gameplay with a simple concept behind it which is executed fantastically. It’s a surprisingly emotional story with an incredible visual and audio aesthetic to support it. But most importantly, it’s a game which earns it’s reputation as a classic because it embraces the most important part of gaming – the player’s input. Shadow of the Colossus isn’t just a beautiful game, it’s a shining example of how games can use interactivity to craft real and memorable experiences, and a must play for anyone who loves game design or gaming in general.

A Retrospective On The Classic Sonic Trilogy

Classics in their own right

Sonic was always one of my favourite franchises growing up. Though nowadays I don’t feel as connected to the character and franchise as I once did, I’ll never forget the fantastic times I had with the side-scrolling games of old. While I experience the first game the traditional way on it’s designated console, the other two would find its way to me through Sonic Mega Collection Plus on PS2.

Though this retrospective is a few months old now, I’m happy with how it turned out and still stand by the thoughts I expressed today. These games really are gems of their own and still hold up to this day – I would highly recommend picking them up and giving them a whirl if you can!

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

Filled with the sights of chequered hills, loop-de-loops, and the iconic sound of the SEGA chant on the boot up, the original Sonic the Hedgehog released in 1991, setting the stage for a future 23 years of Sonic. So much about this classic has been said already, but it’s worth giving it another run through, right? Let’s look at why this title is so iconic, and how it laid the groundwork for the future.

Sonic’s well known for his speed, yet this title doesn’t really capitalise on that gimmick during your time with it. A key element with Sonic is that speed is earned as a reward for your skill and mastery of a level, and this really is the title which began that train of thought. Green Hill Zone is easy enough and gives the player plenty of freedom to get used to Sonic’s top speeds and style of level design, but immediately after, Marble Zone punishes you for trying to charge in without thinking.

This isn’t the only zone which forces a player to slow down and plan what their next moves are. The iconic Labyrinth Zone brings Sonic to the speed of snail underwater, all while avoiding deadly enemies and remembering to collect those all important air bubbles to ensure you don’t drown. Fortunately, in between these two platform heavy zones are Spring Yard and Star Light. As long as you’ve mastered rolling by that point, there’s crazy high speed thrills to be had.

Rolling is the key way you’ll be the speed demon this time around. Since the hedgehog has a speed cap on foot, putting yourself into a ball lets you bypass that. This is where the idea of rewarding a player’s mastery of a level comes in – you’ve gotta know what dangers lie ahead and the layout of the acts so you can most efficiently beat the clock and overcome the obstacles in your path. My current best on Green Hill is about 24 seconds.

To finish the game 100%, you’ll need to defeat the final boss with six Chaos Emeralds in hand. Collecting the emeralds wasn’t much of an easy feat back in the day, especially when you’re going in blinded – the rotating stages could often get frustrating, especially if you didn’t know what you were doing (GOAL? That’s not my goal, that’s the exit!), and accessing them in certain zones was a nightmare (specifically, holding onto 50 rings). More recent versions like the current mobile ports allow you to quit and retry special stages, making it significantly easier on the player. A change I welcome, since it’s totally optional.

Sonic the Hedgehog is a solid title. It’s a little overrated nowadays, but without the iconic ideas it introduced we wouldn’t have its two sequels that built on the ideas and created fantastic experiences. The level design is solid, the visuals for its day were great, you can achieve a great sense of speed and the bosses are nice mix of challenging to simple. If I was going to recommend a version of this game to you, it’d certainly be the rebuilt mobile version alongside Sonic 2. Touch screen controls are surprisingly a non-issue and the added widescreen support and other updated features make them the ideal entry point for these titles.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)

Jump to a year later, and say hello to Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Building upon its predecessor, Sonic 2 features more zones, more Chaos Emeralds, more bosses, more characters… and is commonly referred to as one of the best titles the Sonic series has ever made. It’s certainly one of the most popular and best selling, and only helped to propel Sonic to further mainstream popularity back in the day.

I think part of what makes Sonic 2 so successful are its zones. Sure we start with the typical green hill-ish zone once more, but immediately after we’re thrown into Chemical Plant, sporting purple water and giant ramps to roll down. Later on down the line there’s an ocean of oil, a bright casino, a chase in the sky… these unique level tropes were fantastic to look at and run through. All of these are enjoyable in their own way, sporting some individual platforming and exploration ideas in all of them. Not all of them live to this standard, but even then they still have some great level design.

Something that should be noted about Sonic 2 is that the design has shifted to push much more of the “speed” gimmick. You’ll find yourself flying down giant hills and soaring into the air often, and loop-de-loops are common. This makes for some exhilarating moments you feel in control of. This speed focus can also be seen in the inclusion of the brand new move, the Spin Dash, now a staple of the franchise. Revving yourself up and releasing to a top speed is extremely satisfying, and helps to overcome those ramp issues you might have struggled with once before.

This doesn’t mean Sonic 2 is devoid of the platforming that Sonic 1 embraced fully. You’ll still need to slow yourself down at points and slowly make your way through areas. However, I can’t deny that Sonic 2 feels more linear. As long as you’re not playing blind, for most of the game you can comfortably charge forward and not get punished too often – apart from one or two zones. You can make up your mind if this is a strong suit for the hedgehog or not.

Sonic 2’s lowest points for me come in two areas – Metropolis Zone, and the special stages. Metropolis Zone is well known to be Sonic 2’s most difficult stage for good reason. The badniks are the toughest in the game and most cheaply placed, often found in almost unavoidable spots. You’ll find Shellcrackers waiting at the top of high ledges to knock you back down, or running ahead where a Slicer will suddenly appear and throw its twin blades at you. But aside from these guys, there’s platforming blocks with spikes that stick out of them, conveyor belts above lava, gears that you travel across, corkscrews to run up and black platforms that crush you. The corkscrews should be noted as one of the more challenging obstacles since they’re almost always littered with the exploding Asterons who will knock you down to the ground the minute they detect your presence. And the worst part? All of this goes on for three acts, rather than the usual two.

And anyone who played Sonic 2’s special stages will understand where my pain comes from. Like the previous game, you’ll need 50 rings to access them, however this time it’s via checkpoints via levels. Never assume past the first few zones you’ll get to the special stages without actively trying to keep your rings. The special stages themselves are now iconic, sporting a half pipe design and littered with rings and bombs. Often though it’s difficult to see what’s ahead of you, I feel the design of them tries to confuse you in later stages. There’s no chance you’ll complete all of them blind. It took me many tries on later special stages to get to the end, and remember if you get thrown out you’ll have zero rings and have to collect 50 again. And of course, there’s nothing more frustrating than having the ring count needed and reacting to a sudden bomb in your way, but Tails just isn’t fast enough and you lose out on the goal. It could be just me, but I’ve always found these stages a nightmare, even more than Sonic 1.

Overall, Sonic 2 is a much more enjoyable title than its predecessor. It builds on the good of the original and expands on it. The level design gives more freedom for thrilling moments, the spin dash is a smart and satisfying addition to Sonic repertoire, the music is catchier and captures the essence of each zone brilliantly and the visuals look great and really capture the atmosphere of the zones. If you pick it up on mobile platforms, you also get access to the once forgotten Hidden Palace Zone through a certain pit which many remember the misery of…

Sonic 3 & Knuckles (1993/1994)

And finally, we come to the big one. Famous for making use of “lock-on technology” and creating the biggest 2D Sonic game to date, Sonic 3 & Knuckles is the true version of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. There’s so much more content here and improvements, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles to date still stands as my favourite title in the series, and my most played one too.

Pushing on from Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles goes on to push more of a mix of high speed sequences and platforming. For me, it’s almost perfectly balanced here. There’ll be times where the hedgehog will do his thing and curl into a ball and zoom across the screen at a thrilling speed, and the game won’t punish you for having that fun. But then it slows down, and you have to methodically make your way through areas. Even the famous water zone Hydrocity contains high speed, water slide based segments. The design of the levels is expansive and feels far more immersive to travel through in general, since all acts and zones have transitions here.

Storytelling is a much bigger thing in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Unlike its predecessors which story was told in the levels themselves (to such a subtle point, you wouldn’t be reprimanded if you didn’t know it existed), this title actively shows the adventure which the speedy blue hero has through effective zone transitions, and events within levels which change their atmosphere (see – Angel Island setting on fire). The story isn’t intrusive, but still pushes you to want to keep moving and defeat Robotnik and his scheme to build the Death Egg. It’s also nice to see the rivalry between Sonic and new character Knuckles build and build to a point where they butt heads, and eventually unite. Seeing the Death Egg rise again above the clouds in Sky Sanctuary Zone feels suitably like a challenge to the player, and works on a great story level also.

The game contains fourteen zones overall, which is a pretty comfortably long adventure. These zones also continue with the unique zone trope ideas, creating a collection of enjoyable levels which never feel like retreads of ones you’ve already been to. What’s even better is that zones can be different from act to act – it might just be visual differences like Mushroom Hill’s seasonal changes throughout the zone or seeing the Death Egg in the background of Launch Base, but certain zones like Sandopolis go from traveling a outside in the desert to being inside a pyramid haunted by ghosts, and Lava Reef goes from being a scorching hot cavern to being a crystal wonderland.

Alongside the focus of storytelling and unique level tropes, Sonic 3 & Knuckles also contains music unique to each act. This aids the progression idea significantly, but is just downright a pleasure to listen to. Act 2 is commonly a remix of Act 1’s music which feels just different enough to be both recognisable and brand new. It really helps create an atmospheric change too, such as Launch Base Act 2 feeling like a calm before the storm, or Hyrdocity Act 2 feeling like you’ve travelled to the deepest part of the waters. A special exception is Lava Reef Act 2, which completely changes its music style to suit a complete new area, and an idea of a mystery unravelling itself – this area leads to the discovery of Hidden Palace Zone where the prophecy of the Doomsday fight is, and where the Master Emerald lies.

The special stages here are the most enjoyable I’ve played in the series thus far – Blue Spheres is even a little addicting. The idea is to turn all the blue spheres into red, but touching a red sphere kicks you out of the stage. Unlike previously where you had to collect 50 rings, these stages are accessed via hidden giant rings in stages. This encourages the player to explore these large stages high and low. The stages themselves contain I believe the right mix of challenge for those who are blindly going in or are experienced – obviously, if you know these stages well, it’ll be smooth enough sailing to fight against the increasing pace, with only a little pressure kicking in at top speeds in later stages. But a newbie player will feel that pressure each time they enter a new stage. I never found myself wanting to throw my controller in rage even when I was kicked out once or twice on my first tries, it often felt like a mistake on my own fault. Either way, it’s always satisfying to create a square of red spheres and turn them into rings.

There’s a few other little improvements I want to mention about Sonic 3 & Knuckles too. First off is the ability to have multiple save files which comes with level select, meaning you can pop in to any zone you fancy after you’ve finished. Second run throughs with Super/Hyper Sonic is something you may do often, I know I did. I also enjoy how each character feels just unique enough to want to use all three – Sonic’s has a insta shield which gives momentary protection, but more importantly he can take advantage of the new elemental shield powers which are a lot of fun (my personal favourite is probably the electric shield – double jump plus a ring magnet), Tails’ flight ability is finally usable here and helps out newbie players in difficult area and to find hidden secrets, and Knuckles has his own unique pathways and specifically designed sections (and story!) only he can traverse through. Because of this, replayability is far increased from what was there previously. Finally, I think the game’s multiplayer needs a little shout-out. These aren’t anything much more than races against a friend, but there’s fun to be had and the music found in these levels are hidden gems.

The reason why this title will stand among all others within this franchise might be partially down to nostalgia, but everything it does it does so brilliantly. It succeeds on a lot of levels – it takes steps visually with the environments, the music is lovely and easy to get addicted to, the level designs feel sprawling and fun to speed through, the story is told non-intrusively but is still surprisingly engaging… it feels it took all the best and worst elements of the previous two and made it all just downright fantastic. All three of these games will always stand on a pillar for their impact of the franchise, but this game above all holds a special place in my heart.

Review: KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 2.5 ReMIX-

Mastered to perfection

KINGDOM HEARTS II holds a very special place in my heart. As a child, it was probably the game that captured me the most out of my entire Playstation 2 collection. I managed to pick it up one day through random luck when I saw it sitting in a gaming store and my mum had a generous heart. I took it home, sat down and didn’t put it down again until she told me to go to bed hours later. I couldn’t stop playing it. Even when I was sent to school the next day, my mind was constantly waiting for the day to be over so I could sit down and keep playing it. I don’t think any game had quite that effect on me up until then.

Sitting down with its brand new HD remaster, I’m not really surprised to find such a fantastic gem has held up so well. Not only that, but the other secondary game it includes – KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep – is just as enjoyable, well designed and extremely fun to play. Out of these two HD collections available, undoubtedly this is the stronger of the two.

KINGDOM HEARTS II puts you into the shoes as Roxas initially as you see him through to the end of his Summer vacation. Revisiting it was enjoyable after quite some time, however this long tutorial to the game’s mechanics can quickly prove exhausting on multiple playthroughs. After putting his story to rest, you’ll take control of Sora once more, the series’ true protagonist. Alongside Donald and Goofy, you’ll fight the Heartless once more to save the worlds from darkness – and put an end to the new enemy, Organisation XIII.

The gameplay on offer can offer depth to those who seek it, or be a comfortable, stylish button mashing exercise for others. At lower difficulties the game is pretty simple, allowing you to (mostly) breeze past bosses and enemy encounters using melee alone. However, with Proud and Critical, a new level of strategy is offered to players. How to best organise your abilities becomes key and memorising boss patterns is absolutely essential to victory. Even smaller encounters can prove challenging if you’re not on the ball. Mastering all the powers at your disposal is absolutely critical to survival, with magic and drive forms possibly providing the edge you need to overcome opponents.

The presentation is pretty remarkable too. Updated textures and character models lead to a truly pretty game despite its age. Lots of love went into KINGDOM HEARTS II’s remaster with new cutscenes being fully dubbed and lip synced and beautiful new arrangements of the game’s already fantastic OST being included. It can’t be understated how fantastic Yoko Shimomura’s score is here, and it truly shines brightest with the new mixes. A few ugly and blurry textures here and there will show up and remind you that this is a PS2 game, but overall its been brought to the next generation hardware with great success.

Sadly, the amount of love seen in this title doesn’t ultimately reflect in Birth by Sleep. Only three musical tracks receive a remaster here and it looks a lot more rough around the edges. You’ll see plenty more ugly textures around and the camera can be a real pain. This isn’t to say the game isn’t an absolute joy to play however; the musical pieces are still spot on and it arguably contains the strongest gameplay in the KINGDOM HEARTS series to date.

Birth by Sleep introduces the Command Menu which gives players the ability to use special attacks and magic using the triangle button. Building up hits with commands can lead to Command Styles, which are powerful advancements in your strength and combat ability.  It’s extremely satisfying to master, empowers you greatly, and feels slick and stylish to boot.

The weak link for both these titles – and the franchise itself – is its story. Though well presented and filled with strong performances from the voice cast (outside of the rare few, such as Terra), the games usually suffer from painfully written dialogue and extremely confusing plot developments. The overall story quickly becomes a difficult to follow mystery unless you go online and do your research, but even then the more confusing elements can be lost on you. And this is before we even touch the series’ concept of time travel. The real joy to find in the games is seeing the characters visit each Disney world and watching the stories unfold there.

Because of this, it’s no surprise that the third title on the disc is the clear straggler of the bunch. KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Coded is presented purely as cinematic cutscenes with no real interaction outside of menus. The story isn’t very exciting and often is filled with cringeworthy dialogue. Overall the presentation has certainly been stepped up since the 358/2 Days movie, but this doesn’t excuse some issues – such as the glaring omission of adding in choreographed fight scenes for most battles, but leaving out the climatic Roxas vs Sora fight. Thankfully, it’s a completely optional extra to the game with the only real need to go through it being to obtain its trophies.

Despite the few issues, it’s undeniable that KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 2.5 ReMIX- is simply a must buy for anyone looking for a fantastic adventure. Boasting a lovely new coat of paint, a brilliant musical score and top notch presentation – whether you’re a fan of JRPGs, grew up with the series or love a great action game, this title offers an incredible value for money. I’d definitely recommend picking it up whenever you can.