Hai, My name is Katt; before I get into my theory I want to tell everybody a little about myself. I am a transgender woman and I love playing video games. Now onto my theory...before I came up with this I did a lot of research which only agreed with my theory...Just think what if The Last Guardian were in some way related to the last two games. If it was then that would completely explain why the soldiers glow blue (their eyes and horns) and why Trico glows blue sometimes (again eyes and horns). Now we all know from Shadow of the Collosus that there was a being known as Dormin, and I have read in a few different places that they (Dormin) represent life, and we all know that in Shadow of the Collosus Dormin was split into many pieces, the Collosi; and their eyes would glow blue, as did Wander's eyes at the very end of the game; we also know that in ICO the shadow people had blue glowing eyes. There are two ways you can think about this, A: being that all three games are in the same realm and Dormin plays a role in all of them, be it big or small role. Or B: the makers of these games, Team Ico, really likes the color blue and blue eyes. Option B is possible however it is highly unlikely given Team Ico would more than likely have a way better reason to use the color neon blue for eyes. Option A however is way more plausible than B, because 1 If you pay close attention in the first hour or so of The Last Guardian you will notice that one of the rooms resembles the main/statue room from Shadow of the Collosus very closely. If this is actually the room I believe it to be then that would prove the connection from Shadow of the Collosus to The Last Guardian. However that also begs the question, how does The Last Guardian connect to ICO, the only lead I have right now that answers that question is the blue eyes. Which again could just be a favorite of the developers, but who really knows. -if you have any further information on the matter of how Ico connects to The Last Guardian then please feel free to send a message- -Katt
Hello everyone I am a mod here at Teamicotheories. A bit about myself before we get into the actual theory. My name is Elijah and I've played both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus several times. I've beaten the time trial mode on both normal and hard but have yet to try the remastered HD versions of both games. While I love both games, most of my theories will be focused around Shadow of the Colossus as I favor the game more than its predecessor.
Before getting into the theory I would strongly suggest checking out this video as I use it as an aid. In fact, the original theory comes from this video (as far as I know). That being said, on to the desert rings, Phalanx, and the Queen's Castle
As most of you know, Phalanx is out in the open desert and is also an aerial Colossus. I don't know about those reading this but when I first fought this Colossus I thought to myself 'Why doesn't it just leave?' all of the other Colossi were prevented from leaving the area's they inhabited. The first Colossus was trapped in by the mountains. The Second was trapped in by the mountains as well along with the ocean. The Third is trapped on the platform above the lake. The Fourth is trapped in by the mountainsides. The Fifth can't fly above the mountains. The Sixth is sealed inside the temple. The Seventh is trapped in a lake. The Eighth is sealed in the Colloseum. The Ninth is too big to cross the natural formed bridge. The Tenth is trapped in a cave. The Eleventh cannot climb the ridge to escape the temple or the lake side. The Twelfth cannot leave the lake as a waterfall rests at the end of it. The Fourteenth is trapped in the city ruins. The Fifteenth is trapped in the citadel. The Sixteenth cannot move and even if it could it probably could not scale the side of the mountain.
Phalanx (the thirteenth) is the only Colossus that would be able to roam the entire Forbidden Lands free of restrictions as it is not landlocked. So why wouldn't it? I believe the answer rests within the rings that surround the Desert that Phalanx is found in. The rings seem to be at the corners of the Desert and Phalanx never flies outside of these rings. I believe that, to prevent Phalanx from roaming the Forbidden Lands, this rings were installed to create some sort of magnetic field or electromagnetic field that prevented the Colossus from leaving the desert.
But wait, some rings don't surround the edges so it could leave if it wanted to. Also true and once more I rely on Nomad Colossus for a very convincing hypothesis to said problem. Around many of the rings rests stones in areas that don't have rings there are the same type of stones that could mean that at one point there was once a ring there. But couldn't Phalanx leave if its not there then? Yes, it could. However Phalanx like the rest of the Colossi is still not capable of advanced thinking and if the rings had once been there that means that Phalanx had to learn not to go past them as it may have caused him pain or the magnetic field simply wouldn't allow him to leave. It is called operant conditioning where the subject's behavior is modified based on actions and consequences. In this case when the rings were first installed and Phalanx tried to fly past them it would cause him pain. This would eventually lead to Phalanx not flying that far as to not get hurt. Again and again this would happen until the Colossus realized that if it flew within a certain area it would not be harmed. Even with the rings gone Phalanx had been conditioned to not fly past where the rings missing had been.
Now if you look at the rings and then at the rings in the Queens Castle, you'll notice that they're quite similar...in fact, they're identical. It could be very possible that the rings in the Queen's Castle had simply been unearthed from the Forbidden Land and installed in the Castle to direct/redirect light.
Hiya! My name is Mar and I was granted the opportunity to post here! Sorry I took forever; life has hit me and I've been trying to find myself again. But enough about that! I'm sure that you would find Team Ico stuff much more interesting.
I played Ico and SOTC on the PS2. I had the North American version of Ico and the Greatest Hits version of SOTC. I lost both of those during a move, but thank goodness there's that HD remake for the PS3. So I beat both games again, and I completed the time trials in normal mode for SOTC, but then something happened to the PS3 which made me lose all my data. :((( So now I have to start from scratch all over again, which is fine because it's been a while since I last took a look at the games.
I don't really have much to put here yet since I don't really remember anything, but I still have this thing that I wrote down years ago. I was planning to do a whole... explanation for everything but it proved to be overwhelming and I had to shelve the project. But I hope that posting here would activate something within me and make me explore ideas again.
So without further ado, here's what I could offer for now. I didn't want to take a look at it again in fear of contaminating the thoughts that I've already written down. I apologize for errors.
A long, long time ago, there was a being called the Dormin. The humans at the time worshiped the Dormin because they had the ability to control beings of light, which meant that the omniscient and omnipresent Dormin could resurrect the dead. In order to celebrate the miracles that the Dormin performed for them, the humans erected massive buildings, one of which became what was known as the Shrine of Worship, the tallest building throughout the land. The Shrine had two holes through the ceiling so that the Dormin could speak to the humans: one of the holes was above what seemed to be an altar, and another above a pool of water. And as much as the Shrine was the epitome of the humans' work, they also erected smaller, less extravagant shrines throughout the land. I believe that with the Dormin's wisdom, the humans figured out how to erect these shrines, in addition to the cities and other buildings scattered everywhere. I'm sure that the people were grateful that the Dormin helped them by providing knowledge and resurrecting those who accidentally died during the construction of their buildings. Other than that, I doubt that the Dormin did anything else for the humans, it's not like they would materialize and physically help the humans; they would rather stay well above and watch the humans scurrying about.
The peace in the land and the relationship between the humans and the Dormin lasted through many generations until unfortunately, there was a person who started to think differently. Perhaps the person was disgusted at how much effort the other people put into worshiping the Dormin. Or maybe the person was angry at the Dormin because they did not revive someone special. In that case, maybe the Dormin could not have done it (we know that they have their limitations) and the person did not understand why the Dormin refused to perform the resurrection. Regardless, the person started to think differently about the Dormin. Death was suddenly declared taboo and the being who was once considered a helping hand, who had the power to resurrect the dead, became a symbol of evil. His idea spread like wildfire among the other folks, and ultimately, all of the humans agreed that they needed to do something to separate themselves from the Dormin's influence.
Thus, the humans formulated a plan: they would separate the Dormin into sixteen segments and declare that the land was never to be walked on by people. The people used the knowledge they gained from the Dormin to create something to trap the Dormin for eternity. Thus, they started to carve massive statues, sixteen figures that visually represented an aspect of the Dormin. They erected these statues within the Shrine of Worship. The Dormin thought that the humans were just doing their usual business, fabricating idols so they could worship the Dormin in more ways, and thus did not fail to notice the malice that the people held against them. Behind the scenes, the humans, once again benefiting from the wisdom of the Dormin, smelted a special sword that would trap the Dormin for many eons.
Finally, the day the humans waited for arrived. There was a person designated to place the seal upon the Dormin and while his method was unknown, the result was just devastating for the Dormin. Once whole, the Dormin got ripped apart, their light energy separated and stored themselves into the statues the people have created, and their dark energy left the Shrine, scattering themselves throughout the land.Because the people thought that the Dormin only manifested itself through light, they paid no attention to the streams of darkness leaving the Shrine and content with their rebellion, the people left their land for good. Thus, the land was dubbed the Forbidden Land and no one in the near future would even consider traveling near it. Of course, the memory of the land could not be eradicated from the people's minds; they have spent too much time with the Dormin to completely start anew. However, as the people who were actually there during the sealing of the Dormin started to die (and now there's no way for them to be resurrected), the story transformed into only a mere myth. The story started to be diluted and misinterpreted to the point that no one was curious enough to know more about the Dormin. The idea of that one person from long ago became the established belief: the Dormin were an evil entity never to be worshiped and death was a permanent end of a person. Another component also remained within the people: the Ancient Sword that not supposedly trapped the Dormin was passed through generations. However, the Ancient Sword now did not represent the old ways: the Ancient Sword was the trophy the humans kept as a memento of their triumph over the Dormin.
Two people have so far expressed an interest in joining the team I proposed and are now in the process of... "getting permissions to post on this blog" isn't quite the way I want to put it, but soon it will be more than just myself posting theories and thoughts on the Team Ico titles.
How to Join the Team
The field on Tumblr's "Members" page over to the right (Under "Posts," "Followers," etc) asks for an e-mail address. Anyone wanting to join should send a message to either this page for my personal page, valamphias. You will receive an e-mail with a link and instructions on how to use it.
Right now I'm accepting anyone who is interested (though I might be slow about it, and for that I'm sorry) as long as they are sincerely eager to share thoughts and willing to put some work into their posts.
What I Expect from Team Members
Anyone wanting to become a contributor for this blog should keep the following two things in mind:
1.) While I won't police or try to control the kinds of theories other people post, I do ask that everyone put at least some effort into their thoughts. About the only thing that would not really 'qualify' for this blog is anything that directly contradicts what's in the Team Ico games.
2.) I'm no Grammar Nazi, but I ask anyone wanting to join this page to proofread their posts before publishing them. I'm not asking for perfection (as I still find mistakes in my previous posts on a somewhat regular basis), but sumting liek dis iz unekseptable.
In time, I hope to have a small but dedicated group of writers releasing content for this blog, and I hope that eventually includes myself after my real life obligations aren't quite as demanding of my time.
Questions and comments are welcome, and I hope everyone looks forward to the future updates this team will bring.
For reasons I don't care to really get into, it seems that I won't be able to add content to this blog for the forseeable future. All these new subscriptions I've been seeing in my e-mail's inbox make me feel guilty about this, as I was hoping to produce content for your enjoyment for many months to come. Instead, only silence and a severe lack of updates loom, and I find this troubling.
I find it particularly troubling because the address I've manage to grab - teamicotheories.tumblr.com - is, in my mind, quite a notable address. It's simple, fairly self-explanatory, and usually the kind of thing that's grabbed months or even years before now. I don't want this address to go to waste as the address for the rotting corpse that this page seems to be becoming, but at the same time I don't want to just hand it over to the first person that shows interest in it once they realize I'm no longer updating it.
So, I've been thinking it might be time to allow other interested people to contribute to this page with their own theories, regardless of whether or not they line up with or agree with mine. As I wrote when I started this venture, it seems likely impossible you can be wrong with a theory as long as you put effort into it.
So, I'm thinking about giving other people the ability to post theories and having this page be managed by a group. If you're interested in sharing your thoughts and theories about the Team Ico universe, I'd be interested in hearing from you.
Due to limited time I can spend online in the forseeable future and things I must attend to in that limited time, it seems likely that it will be a while before I can return to writing posts for this page.
I do not know how long this will last, but it seems likely that we'll be well into March before this page sees an update again. I'm sorry for this, and I hope this upcoming period of inactivity won't dissuade all of you from continuing to follow this page.
I hope all of you fare well during this period, and I will get back to this page as soon as I can.
As the number of posts I make increases, it becomes clearer to me that anyone wanting to find specific posts would have to scroll through or search for it. While this isn't too difficult, it is a bit inconvenient.
So, to make it easier for anyone looking for specific posts I have created a page with links to all of the main content posts (ie, theory posts). Hopefully everyone will find it useful in the future. :)
Fighting in Ico was very limited, and clearly not the focus of the game as it was in its spiritual successor/prequel. The game was very much about navigating the castle and puzzle solving, and the escort mission that would endear many to the game's characters.
Yet the enemies were there, and they provide a bit of mystery to speculate on. What are those shadow creatures, exactly, and why do they serve the Queen? How did she come to wear such a cloak of shadows?
The List
For the purposes of this post, the enemies will fall into one of three categories:
The Queen
The Shadow Creatures
The Shadow Horned Children
The villagers we see at the beginning of the game escorting Ico to his prison are clearly not friends, but I can't credit them with any truly malicious intentions. They are doing what they think is best for the village, as misguided and ignorant as the decision is. Because of this (and the fact we don't see them after the opening), they won't be mentioned again in this post.
So, with that out of the way, let's tackle each category in turn, beginning with the Queen.
The Queen
As the only antagonist who speaks, is human, and acts as a boss in the game, Her Dark Majesty holds a unique role in the story. She is the mother of Yorda, undisputed ruler of the castle, and seeker of immortality. She also wields a dark power and commands the shadow creatures, which, as I've speculated on before, are related to Dormin.
Yet, based on some of her actions within the game, it seems she doesn't know everything. Her attitude toward Ico in particular is revealing, as she was very dismissive of him when she first met him.
"She lives in a different world than some boy with horns!" - The Queen, directed at Ico
Indeed, she seems completely unconcerned about Ico beyond the fact that he is attempting to free Yorda, her future vessel, from the castle. How could this be, if she knows enough to be capable of wielding her dark power, commanding an army of shadow creatures, and cheating death?
The simplest answer I can think of is that by the time she came around, the full knowledge of these matters had been lost, if anyone fully understood them at all. The ruling class held some of the knowledge regarding the forces at work, and eventually someone - namely the Queen - exploited matters to achieve a form of immortality. Based on the state of the castle and it's abandoned nature, it seems likely that the body we see was not the body she was born with, and Yorda was not the first victim.
But what happened afterward? The castle is abandoned, there are no signs of any settlements nearby that we can see (we have no idea how far the villagers had ridden to reach the castle), and the castle itself is in an advanced state of disrepair. What happened to the castle inhabitants?
The Shadow Creatures
I've speculated before that Dormin's essence - Their power - is inherently life giving. Well, a power that breaks the barrier of life and death may also be able to take a form of its own when commanded to, right?
That's all I really think the shadow creatures you face for most of the game are: beings born of the Queen's cloak with a single driving directive to follow: ensure that Yorda does not escape the castle.
The question then becomes, what happens when they die? All we see is that their eyes cease to glow and they dissipate like smoke. Does that power return to the Queen? Is that power just lost? Or does it end up somewhere else entirely?
This is a question I still haven't been able to puzzle out a satisfying answer for, since any answer could be 'right.' Consider it a hole in my theory or that my theory is incomplete if you must, but I just can't make up my mind about it.
The Shadow Horned Children
In one of the most tragic scenes in the game, Ico fights these shadow versions of himself, who never try to harm him and, when struck, dissipate, with their floating 'remains' entering one of the sarcophagi, which then glow.
Their connection to Ico is pretty clear, and Ico being a descendant of Wander is a confirmed fact. In light of the ending of Shadow of the Colossus, this can lead to some very interesting theories.
Collected over generations of sacrifice, these shadow horned children are the individuated expressions of the driving collective consciousness of Dormin, kept separate and unable to form a single entity. They are aware of or can somehow sense that Ico is of the same line, and this is why they do not wish to harm him. They also seem drawn to Yorda, but whether they are under the sway of the Queen or are acting of their own initiative is impossible to guess.
Conclusion
So there you have it. All of the expressions of power and the supernatural are related to Dormin. Questions are comments are always welcome, and I hope you look forward to my next post.
Hey guys. Before I get into what you can expect from this blog next month, I have to say I've been absolutely blown away by the response. As of this writing my posts have been shared over 60 times and the follower count for this page is almost at 40. I am astounded that so many people are interested in what I have to say about the Team Ico titles, and I'd like to thank each and every one of you for giving me that 'vote of confidence.' I aim to provide more quality articles regarding these amazing games, and I hope you like and enjoy what I put on the page next month.
I also feel I must apologize. I was hoping to have one more post up before the end of the month, but, man, I've had distractions left and right and couldn't quite get it done. It's almost there, though. I hope to have it up by the 7th of February.
So, with all that out of the way, here is what I hope to present to you in February:
The Enemies of Ico: The post I'm almost done with. It will provide a detailed analysis of the enemies you face in the game and how I think they fit into the overall picture of the two titles.
The Nameless Wanderer: An analysis of Wander, the place he might have held within his society, and how the other characters are connected to him.
Analyzing the Game: Shadow of the Colossus: As the name suggests, this post will analyze some of the elements present within the game, including the cinematics.
Analyzing the Game: Ico: Like the above, but with Ico instead of SotC.
I do have a few more posts planned as well, but I don't want to try and promise too much for a single month. I may also release much smaller posts over the course of the month, focusing on small, particular things from each game that may not fit in to the "Analyzing the Game" posts.
As the only enemies you fight for the entirety of the main game, the colossi already held the center stage. Yet their additional attributes solidify this focus all the more: their immense size was undeniable, as was the confusion first time players surely felt when victory wasn't sweet, both in the tone set by the music and the tendrils that emerge from the slain giants only to embed themselves deep into Wander - not a pleasant experience by the look of things.
The colossi - and the events that surround their creation - are never fully explained in the game. All we know for sure is that they contain part of Dormin's power, and that by killing them Wander is freeing Dormin from "an eternity of prison."
Origin
The sealing of Dormin is clearly the origin point of the colossi. That much is indisputable. Without all the added knowledge we have from beating the game and all the theorycrafting that undeniably point to and rely on this fact, the opening lines of Dormin at the beginning of the game suggest this as well. They say,
"Behold the idols that stand along the wall... Thou art to destroy them all. But those idols cannot be destroyed by the mere hands of a mortal..."
"In this land there exist colossi that are the incarnations of those idols. If thou defeat those colossi, the idols shall fall."
These opening lines give us concrete information about the colossi and set the stage for the game: the colossi are tied to the idols, and Dormin desire (or need) us to destroy the idols before They bring Mono back.
But when I really thought about it, why would the people that sealed Dormin in the first place leave a way for Them to escape? The colossi seem like such a gaping hole in an otherwise 'air tight' prison, seeing as how one ballsy guy with strong motivation can undo what seems to be such an intricate trap.
My thoughts on the matter is that the colossi were unintended - a byproduct of sealing Dormin's power into the land. As I speculated about in the post about Dormin, the essence of Dormin's power is inherently life giving. The people performing the sealing ritual didn't have a full understanding of Dormin's nature, so they had no idea that the colossi would result.
Yet, the fact remains that the idols represent the colossi and generally resemble them, and that the death of the colossi results in a respective idol's destruction. How could this be, if the sealing ritual wasn't supposed to result in the colossi being born?
The Idols
Being so prominently displayed in the Shrine of Worship leads me to believe that they were central in the religious practices of the people. Historically, idols and other such religious statuary have been used to represent patron gods, whether they be part of a high pantheon or guardian deities of a place or person.
The idols within the Shrine of Worship, the central religious place in all the land, seem to most likely tied to places, and it is these places that we battle the colossi in the games. Where the inspiration for the forms of these idols came is impossible to say for certain (except that Dormin likely had something to do with it), but there is plenty to suggest that the idols represent places in whatever context they were used in the religion.
The Battlegrounds
Most of the areas in which we fight the colossi show some sign of human habitation, with many of these being entire structures. The platform above Gaius's lake, the rings and other ruined structures in Phalanx's area, and the full structures found in several other colossus battle sites all suggest that these areas were, in one way or another, significant to the people of the land.
Indeed, of all the colossi, the only one whose battle site has absolutely no sign of structures is Dirge's, the sand serpent. For those who don't recall, Dirge was the tenth colossus faced in battle, and it was in the cavern with the sandy floor far to the west of the map.
While it lacked any structural ruins, the cave had a feature shared with some of the other structures found throughout the Forbidden Lands. Several of the fights took place in structures that had an opening to the sky, and these openings, while not as perfectly circular as the one found in the Shrine of Worship, very much reminded me of where Dormin spoke out of every time he spoke to Wander.
While They never do so during the course of the game, it seems possible - and quite plausible - that Dormin spoke through these holes at certain points in the Forbidden Land's history. This opening for a voice from the sky, when considered along with the fact that a lot of these places were completely exposed to the open air, indicate the possibility that when Dormin spoke They (sometimes, generally, or almost always) spoke to Their worshipers in the same way They speak to Wander throughout the game: from above.
The battleground of Malus, the final colossus, deserves special consideration, though. It is the only place that seems to have been purposely made to approach the colossus. The only thing I can say about this is that the decision to split up Dormin was likely not a universal one, and there may have been many that tried to undo it, but were ultimately unable to. The efforts may have been guided by Dormin, as Malus is locked away behind a door that can only be opened by a concentrated beam of light.
The Colossi Themselves
If the colossi were an accident, then, aside from Dormin's essence breathing life into the land from which they are made of, why are they there? How did they become the key to Dormin's great escape, and why did they take on the appearance of the idols that line of the walls of the Shrine of Worship?
The simple answer is that Dormin were able to manipulate the sealing process, with Their power receiving a 'final set of instructions' before being taken from Them. So, either as the sealing process was happening or shortly after the fact, great colossi were born, bound to the area from which they were spawned. Quite a shock it was, I'm sure.
A thought that just occurred to me is that it could have been the colossi that ultimately caused the exodus, as a lot of the common people would have been absolutely terrified and the leaders of the new religious order (the guys that were responsible for sealing dormin) didn't want to risk the chance of the Dormin faithful somehow setting Them free.
It may also help explain why a couple of the colossi were behind stone walls before we initiate the battle with them in the game. How it was managed I can't even guess.
After a time the colossi entered a dormant state. Since they were inherently deathless aside from one obvious method of killing them (being born of Dormin's essence) and trapped within the area of their creation, they had no reason to move around. We see Gaius in particular resting on its platform, waking up when it senses Wander (or perhaps the sacred sword) nearby.
Despite the natural survival instincts of the colossi, the essence inside of them concentrated at points as if striving to escape, and these points served as the areas in which Wander concentrated his efforts. The major sigil responded to the presence of the sacred sword and Dormin's manipulation of light, guiding his way to defeating the colossi and setting Dormin's power free.
What made the sacred sword so special? Let's save answering that question for another post.
In Conclusion
To summarize all of the above:
The idols were representing (and perhaps magically connected to) areas around the Forbidden Land.
The colossi were not planned by the group sealing Dormin, but...
Dormin was able to manipulate the sealing process into creating the colossi, thus making...
An escape route, made from the land in which Their power was sealed.
Like this theory? Disagree with it? I'm always interested in hearing from all of you. Let me know what you think, and be sure to like and share this post.
Of all the things to be found within the two games, Dormin remains perhaps the most mysterious - yet one of the most expanded upon - elements present within Team Ico's fictional world. Dormin is also, I feel, the ultimate example of how players are free to interpret as they wish.
Hints and Riddles
Something almost everyone first noticed when it came to Dormin was the way They refer to Themselves. It's always the plural, without exception. That always struck me as very interesting, especially in light of everything that follows.
Dormin's power was split into sixteen pieces, and these pieces were the driving force behind the colossi. The most interesting thing about this is that, despite being created as either a side effect or the main goal of the sealing ritual, these creatures acted in a very life like way. Some didn't act hostile toward you until after you started hurting them, while Celosia in particular displayed fear when you held the flaming wood to drive it off the edge. Fear is the most primal emotion a living thing can feel, suggesting that the colossi were, indeed, living beings.
The blue eyes of the colossi, Dormin Themselves, and the shadow creatures in Ico all indicate they are intrinsically connected, but the shadow people that stand around Wander as he lays unconscious in the Shrine of Worship do not have glowing blue eyes despite their obvious connection to both Dormin and the slayed colossi. It should be noted, too, that Wander himself had similarly bright blue eyes in the scenes following the defeat of the final colossus.
The original booklet that came with the American version of Ico (and I'm assuming other booklets have similar details - correct me if I'm wrong here) suggest that the Queen was able to abandon physical form, but that she always had to return to physical form in order to continue surviving. While in physical form she was always shrouded in darkness similar to Dormin's appearance and command the shadowy beings that seem intrinsically connected to Them. This particular clue may not be acceptable to some (especially given the purist mentality I displayed in my first post on this blog), but I'm including it simply because it's the only real bit of information I have about Her Majesty.
As several pages and wikis point out, the name Dormin is very similar to words in Romance languages that translate into English as "sleep" or something similar. Whether or not this is significant or a coincidence is up for debate, but I don't view it as relevant - even if this fact does open the mind to a few interesting ideas.
What Does It Mean?
It's complicated.
Essentially, it is my belief, based on the evidence above, that Dormin is a group of beings (super)naturally drawn together to form a collective will. This collective will, composed of any number of individuals, has incredible metaphysical powers, having command over light and dark, life and death, and likely more beyond that.
Light and dark? Yes, given the dual nature Dormin have displayed in Shadow of the Colossus, I believe that They have complete control over light. Consider the following:
There is no sun over the Forbidden Lands, yet the landscape is lit up in most places. I have personally tried to find the sun by paying attention to the direction of Wander's shadow, but with no success. (Whereas in Ico, despite similar light bloom effects for the sky, you can generally find the sun as long as you are outside and the camera isn't being overly difficult when trying to look at a certain area of the sky.)
As you defeat colossi, beams of light come down from swirling clouds above the area in which you fought each colossus. By the time you face Malus, there are fifteen beams of light, and you can see all of them to the north as you fight the towering giant.
The method you use to find the colossi is itself provided by Dormin. It isn't likely that the sword has a built in magical function for attracting and redirecting light, but rather They are manipulating that light around your sword as you hold it up as instructed to in the beginning of the game.
Lord Emon's narration at the beginning of the game mention "...one with the ability to control beings made from light." Considering that Dormin is the only supernatural intelligence we meet, it is only logical for the quote to apply there.
It is my belief that Dormin exist on both sides of several boundaries, whereas everything else we see in the game are only on side side. Wander is on the side of the living while Mono has passed the doors of death, for instance, but Dormin, by Their very nature, seem to transcend this boundary, and that is perhaps part of what gives Them power over the souls of mortals. They are likely entirely deathless, because They are not alive in the traditional sense. This may have been, in part, what inspired reverence or worship from the original inhabitants, as I've speculated on in a previous post.
Dormin's Collective Consciousness and Power
Dormin's collective will and the fact that the beings seem predisposed to forming together and acting in unison lead me to believe that the Dormin are, to put it in natural terms, hive-minded in nature. This collective, while referring to itself in plural, acts more or less as a single will from an external perspective.
When Dormin was severed and Their power separated into sixteen discrete pieces, that power brought life to sixteen majestic creatures. These creatures displayed an instinct of self-preservation, but seemed to lack the higher intelligence we see in Dormin. Their personalities varied somewhat as well, with some being hyper aggressive (in at least one case to the point where this aggression could be used against it) to others being remarkably passive even after you've caused them harm. Their intelligence, by and large, appear limited to an almost instinctual level, though it could be argued that the colossi never really had the opportunity to show just how smart they are. In any event, a more full discussion of this particular matter can wait for its respective post.
The shadow creatures in Ico display a very limited intelligence as well, and they are fully under the control of the Queen. In combat they display a kind of pack mentality, with one or more moving to keep you occupied while another grabs Yorda.
What these two types of enemies had common was that they had the glowing/bright blue eyes. What could this symbolize?
It seems to me that Dormin's power, or disembodied essence, is inherently life giving or capable of taking on a life of its own when separated from the collective consciousness. The full theory of how and why this happened in each case can wait for their respective posts, but from where I sit it seems that Dormin's power is actually an essence that, lacking direction from Dormin's collective will, takes on a physical(ish) form if it is left in that physical world, and this form must have blue eyes, like Dormin Themselves do when they take on Their shadow form. As Wander slayed the colossi, it returned that respective part of Dormin's essence back to Their control, and we all know what happened after that.
This is also why Wander has bright blue eyes at the end of the game. With Dormin's full power/essence inside of him, he has become Dormin's vessel.
Because the shadow men that stood around Wander after each battle did not have these eyes, it is my belief that these were projections of the power that had been forced into Wander, ready to be fully unified and controlled by Dormin after the ritual was complete.
What About the Doves?
The observant among you may have noticed that in all that text above I never once mentioned the doves. The fact remains that, even now, I am of two minds about them.
The commonly accepted theory is that the doves surrounding Mono as you defeat the colossi represent the light in contrast to the dark of the shadow men. As beautiful as this symbolism could be, I don't believe this to be the case.
Mono displays a very gentle, pure spirit at the end of the game. After she gets into the Secret Garden the animals there show no fear of her, and indeed seem drawn to her in a similar way that the doves are drawn to her throughout the course of the game. The doves, in my mind, are meant to contrast the dark path Wander is going down, but are not meant to be related to Dormin in any way.
You can also see doves in other parts of the game as well, and they also appear in Ico, with Yorda sometimes trying to interact with them if you stay in an area long enough. Given this, I am of the opinion that the doves are only there to symbolize Mono's (and perhaps Yorda's?) purity and nothing else.
Conclusion
I struggled with whether or not to include more in this post, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that what I was intending to add really is meant for other posts, such as my examination of the colossi. The Dormin really do seem to be the central mythological figure of the two games, and everything else, in one way or another, revolves around Them. So this is as full a look as we can get in a single post without making this entry too long or making other entries redundant.
So, while it still feels marginally incomplete to me, I'm going to end it here.
If you have questions, comments, or disagreements with my theory, feel free to send me a message. I'm looking forward to having conversations about these wonderful games.
With my first big post out there and others on the horizon, I feel the need to warn all you that there might be some long waits between updates. I want to assure everyone in advance of this that I will not abandon this blog nor put it on hiatus without making a post telling you I am doing so.
With that out of the way, here are the things I'm currently working on:
The Nature of Dormin: My full theory regarding the nature of Dormin, based on what we see in both games.
Examining the Cinematics & Symbolism of SotC: Given the vague and symbolic way in which Team Ico presents their stories, what we are presented with can be interpreted in any number of ways. This post will contain, among other things, my interpretations of the cinematics in Colossus, with special emphasis on the ending.
Regarding the Colossi: A detailed look at the nature of the colossi, the ritual that ultimately created them, and anything else relevant to a full understanding of these majestic creatures.
The Enemies of Ico: A special look at the shadow creatures, shadow horned children, and the Queen, and how I think they fit into the overall themes of both titles.
The Nameless Wanderer: A look at the character Wander, the place he held within his society, and how he might be connected to both Mono and Emon.
These are only my immediate goals - as I get going I will likely expand my list to include other items. The order in which these items are listed isn't an indication as to the order they will come out.
I will strive to release these in a somewhat regular fashion, but life is bound to happen and I want to make sure these are more or less perfect before releasing them. So, even if I manage a degree of regularity, expect waits between each major update.
From the moment I first laid eyes on the Forbidden Lands from atop the bridge in the opening cutscene, I had felt the desire to explore every nook and cranny. I won't say that I've seen absolutely everything, but what I did see spoke of a land that had once been populated, but had been abandoned many years before the events of Shadow of the Colossus unfolded. Centuries had passed at the very least, and all that remained were structures carved or built out of the bones of the earth, including the structure in which we, as Wander, would spend most of our time around: the Shrine of Worship.
In The Beginning
While it is impossible to speculate with any certainty, it is my belief that these lands were always inherently special, or that the original inhabitants were drawn there for some special reason. As Lord Emon said in the opening of Shadow of the Colossus...
"That place... began from the resonance of intersecting points... They are memories replaced by ens and naught and etched into stone. Blood, young sprouts, sky--and the one with the ability to control beings created from light... In that world, it is said that if one should wish it one can bring back the souls of the dead... But to trespass upon that land is strictly forbidden..."
Whether Dormin attracted these people or some other circumstance caused them to settle these lands, it is clear that from the beginning of that culture's memory these lands were somehow special. For the sake of this theory I'm going to assume this inherent quality in the land was the influence of Dormin, as there's nothing that could indicate one way or the other aside from the line "...and the one with the ability to control beings created from light..."
It is apparent that over time a religion was founded based around Dormin, whether in reverence, outright worship, or some other arrangement with Dormin featured. Given the dual nature displayed by Dormin throughout the game (I have a full post planned to share my thoughts regarding Dormin's nature), it seems likely that They are the being referenced in that line.
Building
After the initial settlement great structures were built. The Shrine of Worship stands tall and proud in the center of the land, but hidden away and scattered are several other large stone structures of varying design. On top of these are the numerous prayer shrines. In gameplay these were only there to let you save your progress, but their design fits in with the religious nature of the Shrine and, arguably, the other structures present, among which you fight some of the colossi in the game.
It is likely that other buildings were made out of more temporary materials, such as wood, for houses and other small community functions. It's possible that some of the save shrines even mark the locations of these villages. No trace of any settlements exists during the time period of SotC, which leads me to believe only the culturally significant buildings of the land were made with lasting materials.
Given the variety of the structures present, it is likely that each fulfilled specific functions, whether they be audience chambers, a place for sporting events, or other things a healthy culture needs to continue thriving. Guessing how each place was significant, while interesting, is ultimately a matter of conjecture without much to back it up.
Conflict
However, eventually something happened. To say anything about what happened would mostly be baseless speculation, except that over the course of events Dormin's power was split into sixteen, trapped within the land, and the people ended up fleeing.
However, there are a couple of hints.
When Wander first asks Dormin to resurrect Mono, Dormin laughs in his face, saying, "That maiden's soul? Souls that are once lost cannot be reclaimed. Is that not the law of mortals?" Considering that Dormin does indeed have the power to resurrect, this strikes me as sarcastic statement, or perhaps a biting remark at the beliefs Wander was raised with.
Lord Emon's reaction upon Dormin's reappearance is noteworthy, as it not only shows that he had previous knowledge of Dormin but that he was terrified of the thought of Them returning. Based on his praying over Mono's body and ability to command soldiers, it seems he was a religious figure with notable authority. This, alongside Dormin's sarcasm above, seems to indicate that a founding (or at least important) principle of Emon's religion was the permanence of death, and that at or around this religion's beginning Dormin was sealed.
How such a principle could be born in an environment with Dormin in it is something I don't understand, but this seems to be a major contesting point, and for Wander, who is notably wearing an outfit similar to Emon's, to steal a sacred artifact and go against this principle for the sake of a woman is noteworthy. A full theory regarding Wander, his sword, and his relationship with both Mono and Emon is forthcoming, but it is my belief that Wander and Emon knew each other, and that Wander's place or duty in his society gave him both the knowledge and the means to put his desperate plan into action.
After Dormin's Sealing
The land was abandoned, and it was declared to be "strictly forbidden" for anyone to enter that land again - likely under the threat of some curse. I assume that if they could have destroyed the bridge or the entrance they would have, but since it was still there at the time of Wander's arrival and the way it collapsed at the end of the game lead me to believe that something supernatural prevented it from happening way back then. It also seems possible that others had visited these lands before Wander, but because they lacked either the sword or knowledge of what transpired in the land they left little mark. About the only thing I ever noticed that struck me as odd was the wooden planks you see as you climb your way to Valus, the first colossus, but there are probably other signs that could point to this possibility.
The long years pass, with Dormin trapped in a land without followers. Centuries go by with this supernatural being pushing against its supernatural prison. I can't imagine "an eternity" of prison, but I can imagine a certain elation when They felt Wander's approach with the sacred blade in hand.
The events of Shadow of the Colossus happen. Dormin is freed, borrowing the body of Wander before being sucked into the glowing pool, which somehow causes Wander to be reborn with horns. Mono wakes up, finds the injured Agro and baby Wander, and proceeds to the Secret Garden as the credits role.
What happened afterward, and what transpired over the many years between SotC and Ico, is a matter of much uncertainty. About all we know for sure is that the pair - or their descendants - made it out of the land.
We also know that at some point knowledge of the events of the game was either handed down or discovered by someone, that the Queen in Ico came to understand how to utilize Dormin's essence, and a custom within a region of the world was born for every child born with horns to be taken to a castle and locked away.
It is not my belief that the events in Ico happen within the Forbidden Lands, but perhaps they do happen relatively close to them. Because of that, I consider the events in Ico to be outside the scope of this post.
In Conclusion
I know it is rather vague, but trying to guess specifics beyond this enters into the realm of building theory on top of theory, and I'm not very interested in that. What I have presented is, in my mind, the most complete picture of the Forbidden Land's history one can hope for based on what is presented in the game.
I hope you enjoyed reading that, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to send me a message.
...or, to give this post another title: What This Tumblr Page is Actually Meant to Accomplish.
My intent on this page is to craft a comprehensive, all-encompassing theory of the elements found within both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, focusing primarily on what the games themselves present, while noting what few official words that come from Fumito Ueda and other Team Ico members have to say on particular matters. This blog will not be a collection of Team Ico quotes, nor will I exhaust myself trying to locate everything these people have said. In the event that I contradict the words of Ueda, Kaido, or anyone else on the team, feel free to enlighten me.
To put it shortly, I will primarily concern myself with what's in the games: quotes, other theories, and commonly accepted assumptions within the fan community are a distant second.
So, with that out of the way, let's get to the facts:
Ueda had no plan to connect the two games at all during the development of SotC.
Most of the items in SotC that reference Ico are cameos, or small nods by the team to their previous work.
Wander's rebirth as a horned child is the only thing that solidly connects the two games at all, but the exact nature, timeline, and other elements between the two titles remain a complete mystery.
Most of the elements in both games are unspecific, creating far more questions than answers. Because of this, it is usually up to the player to interpret things however he or she wishes.
These are my basic assumptions as I go forward with my theory crafting:
Since most of the storytelling in the games is done through visual cues and player action, visual similarities can denote important plot points.
Small details related to the game, such as trophy titles in the HD release on the PS3, are relevant in my quest to "solve the mysteries" of Team Ico's world.
Unless directly contradicting something within the games, it is generally impossible to be wrong, though a lot of effort should be put into a given theory in order for it to be acceptable.
So, with that out of the way: let's begin, shall we?
