History VideoGame / Ico

A novelization of the game, ''Ico: Castle in the Mist'' by Miyuki Miyabe, was released in Japan in 2004, with an English translation by Creator/AlexanderOSmith released in 2011. The original creator does not recognize it as canonical, but then again, [[DeathOfTheAuthor he doesn't recognise]] ''his own'' interpretation as canonical, either - he encourages each player to come up with their own stories about what exactly is going on and how the game does or doesn't relate to ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus''. (And, possibly, ''VideoGame/TheLastGuardian''.)

''ICO'' is a 2001 ActionAdventure UsefulNotes/{{PS2}} game designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who wanted to create a minimalist game around a [[BoyMeetsGirl "boy meets girl"]] concept. It is the first game in the VideoGame/TeamIcoSeries.

* UpdatedRerelease: Released as ''The Ico & VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus Collection'', as well as a standalone digital download on the UsefulNotes/PlaystationNetwork, it features widescreen HD graphics and a few other goodies. More importantly for North American players, the re-release has all of the features from the PAL version, finally averting BadExportForYou.

* ObviousBeta: The original, [=PS2=] North American version. Yorda's AI is almost entirely unresponsive, a few puzzles were completely different and too easy, and several bonuses were missing. Fortunately, the HD version released for [=PS3=] in NA is based on the more polished Japanese/PAL version.

* CheckPointStarvation: There are no Save Points in the last segment of the game, which contains some difficult jumping puzzles and few checkpoints. Just hope it's not dinner time when you arrive at the final battle.

* RedIsHeroic: Ico is dressed in a striking red shirt

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Yorda is never seen having shoes on.

* CameraScrew: You don't have direct control of the camera. Rather all you can do is pan the camera around Ico temporarily to maybe see what's around you, which sometimes lends a frisson of FakeDifficulty to the platforming sequences.

A novelization of the game, ''Ico: Castle in the Mist'' by Miyuki Miyabe, was released in Japan in 2004, with an English translation by Creator/AlexanderOSmith released in 2011. The original creator does not recognize it as canonical, but then again, [[DeathOfTheAuthor he doesn't recognise]] ''his own'' interpretation as canonical, either - he encourages each player to come up with their own stories about what exactly is going on and how the game does or doesn't relate to ''Shadow of the Colossus''.

* SequenceBreaking: A jumping glitch in the [=PS2=] PAL version can be used to skip roughly 50% of the game. See SpeedRun below.

* SpeedRun: The [=PS3=] UpdatedRerelease has a trophy for finishing the game in less than 4 hours. And one to finish it in less than ''two hours''

* SpeedRun: The [=PS3=] UpdatedRerelease has a trophy for finishing the game in less than 4 hours. And one to finish it in less than ''[[UpToEleven two hours]]''

* BiggerStick: Ico doesn't power up, he just finds better things to smack monsters with. This is in keeping with the game's guiding philosophy of "addition by subtraction".

* HornedHumanoid: Ico has two horns and they are a bad omen.

* LoadBearingBoss: [[spoiler: Once [[FinalBoss the Queen]] is slain the castle begins to [[CollapsingLair collapse and sink into the sea]].]]

* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: One of the worst examples yet. The European and Japanese cover was inspired by the surrealist art of Giorgio de Chirico, with Ueda painting his own take for the game, and expressed the loneliness of the setting and the importance of the companionship. The North American cover, on the other hand, features generic shots of a [[RaceLift Race Lifted]] Ico, Yorda, and a windmill, and lacks any emotional depth (though it does show Ico looking about as bad-ass as one can with a wooden sword). The NA cover was so infamous that it later gained an acknowledgment in some interviews with staff in the [=PS3=] re-release. The only reason this cover was used in North America was due to its fixed release deadline; Ueda wasn't able to provide the more abstract cover in time for release.

* BiggerStick: Ico doesn't power up, he just finds better things to smack monsters with.

* DoorToBefore: This trope is employed extensively. The game starts out deep within a castle's catacombs, then works its way into an EscortMission that takes [[KidHero Ico]] and [[FallenPrincess Yorda]] through a game-long flight across a full-scale island fortress. They navigate [[BrokenBridge inconveniently gaping chasms]], [[DeathTrap death-rigged rooms]], [[BlockPuzzle puzzle-based chambers]] and basically tour the whole building - ramparts, gardens, cemeteries - to [[LockedDoor unlock the one escape door]]. When you finally open the doors, [[spoiler: [[SavethePrincess she gets kidnapped]]]], so you have to climb your way back to where you started out at the catacombs for [[FinalBoss one last fight]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ico.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Sit back, relax, and enjoy the SceneryPorn.]]

* BoyMeetsGirl: Ico meets Yorda shortly after his initial escape.

* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Ico is much smaller than Yorda.

* TroneRoomTrowdown: The final confrontation with the Queen occurs in her throne room.

* TroneRoomThrowdown: The final confrontation with the Queen occurs in her throne room.

* MultiMookMelee: You will start fighting these hordes of shadows, trying to keep them away from Yorda… before realizing they don't even try to attack Ico. Add to this a magnificent SoundtrackDissonance, and [[PlayerPunch this scene really makes you feel uneasy]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ico.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Sit back, relax, and enjoy the SceneryPorn.]]

''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' is both {{prequel}} and {{spiritual successor}} to ''ICO'', sharing a similar aesthetic approach, although the two games are standalone.

Note that the game's title is always written in capital letters, but the character's name is not. Also, it is spelled "IKO" in katakana and thus pronounced "ee-ko", not "ai-ko". (Although many Anglophone people still say it like that anyway.)