by OL » Mon Jan 30, 2017 2:05 pm
I always get the impression that the game started as a really loose concept; sort of like Ueda and his team threw a random idea at the wall, said "what the hell," and just started working without having a super-tight plan in place. And to me, I think that's ultimately the most impressive thing about the game; the fact that it very, very easily could have ended up as a total mess, but instead ended up as this creative, touching little piece of interactive storytelling. The looseness actually adds to its sense of uniqueness. It feels fluid and natural. Trico's AI starts to show its seams a bit closer to the end (as you start to recognize the specific ways he reacts to things), but that doesn't damage the weird sense of wonder you get through the rest of the game as he displays that he practically has a mind of his own, and isn't just a tool that the player orders around.
That being said, as much as I loved the game, I personally don't think it's Ueda's best. Despite having a good amount of emotional impact and all that, it just never felt quite as... I dunno, artistic as his others. Too much narration, too much literal exposition/cutscenes. While his other games had an odd feeling of being like interactive poetry -- where you truly have to glean the details for yourself through visual/audio/environmental clues (making it so that interpretation of the story may vary from person to person) -- this one just feels like a sweet little fairytale. A straightforward story with little to no personal interpretation necessary. That's not a bad thing, that's just what I took away from it. This could almost be a Disney movie, given a bit of extra dialogue.
I personally think Shadow of the Colossus still takes the cake as Ueda's best. A novel concept, a tighter structure, a story whose details are more open for discussion, and, most important of all, just a greater sense of fun than either of the others. SotC is just a blast to play, while TLG seemed like it would be a bit of a slog to replay immediately. Plus, it's got Agro; maybe not as cute and fluffy as Trico, but still an AI companion you can easily gain an attachment to.
OL has received 2 thanks from: Monkei, sand4fish