Team Ico - Shared Universe Theory

Does The Last Guardian share the same universe as Shadow of the Colossus and Ico? What exactly is going on in these three games?

This is just my theory about how Team Ico's three games are connected. If you disagree, awesome! Please tell me your own theories in the comment section. :)

[HindruD]

I always thought the environment architecture was a dead giveaway.

[benwasserman]

Honestly all three of these games defy conventional genres. They really are something else

[Alex_Logan]

Its hard to call Dormin an antagonist or villain without evidence. Evil power sure but not necessarily evil intent. Wander seeked him out, Dormin not only kept his word in the deal but warned Wander of a heavy price, its not like he way trying to scheme him into manipulation, he was being upfront and Wander complied because for him anything was worth it. All we have of the danger of Dormin is stories, of which Wander himself did not fully believe. In the end we only see him lashing out on the ones who banished him for revenge, he didn't speak of any evil plans. The characters that banished him show high signs of ignorance and fear, perhaps why they banished him to begin with and why Wander went against them in this mission, since his girl was also sacrificed. If anything its Wander's people who seem like the real troublemakers more than anyone.

[VuTran-rbpu]

Another common thread I've noticed is how each game begins with the protagonist desperately trying to reverse their curse fate- or in the case of SOTC, the curse fate of the one they love. Whether they know it or not, their transgressions always seem to begin and end with an act of sacrifice. It's the fear of isolation, the need for companionship, and the willingness to sacrifice that ties all of these games together thematically. For me, there is no overarching story or grand narrative that connects these games together. Rather, its about understanding the themes presented in each story and recognizing the beauty in their simplicity. Underneath the veneer of these fantastical and mysterious worlds, are human stories told by the most unconventional story tellers of their medium.

[Bill-nssp]

The theory I came up with places the Last Guardian before Shadow of the Colossus.

The civilization discovered how to pull the light energy out of people, which is what ran the magical things in their kingdom, but the dark energy they couldn't control, so they tried to contain it. However, that dark energy became conscious, and seized control over their technology, and started using the Trico to gather more and more sacrifices to build its power. The Master of the Valley is this dark entity, and the structure we see it contained in is where it was originally contained.

Under the threat of extinction via sacrifice, the people were forced to evacuate their lands, moving further and further away to try to escape the Tricos. But speaking of the Trico, they seem to be naturally peaceful, but they're under the influence of the Master of the Valley, and I believe the armor serves the purpose of helping to extend the duration of that influence. The strange cage-like rooms which emit the pulses that make Trico eat you are the means by which the Trico are commanded, but the armor somehow focuses that energy, extending its effect. That is why at the beginning of the Last Guardian when the weary Trico is struck by lightning, and then crashes to the ground, breaking its armor from its body, it shakes off the control of the Master of the Valley, and why when it is given the new commands in the cage-rooms, why it retreats to a safe location to regurgitate the boy instead of taking him all the way to the top of the tower.

So at the end of the Last Guardian, I think the Master of the Valley's containment and essence extractor are destroyed, prompting it to re-locate to the Temple we will later encounter in Shadows of the Colossus. There this shadow entity founds a cult, depicting itself as a god, "proving" its claims by showing power over life and death by manipulating the light and dark energies. But then these people eventually encounter the survivors of the civilization responsible for the creation of this shadow entity, and in light of the threat posed, the cult is dispanded, and the survivors of the original civilization use their light-based magic items (including shields and swords) contain the shadow creature, now referring to itself ad "Dormin". Dormin's essence is split and bound to the land, creating the Colossai.

The region containing these Colossai is vacated, and access to it is made forbidden. But the survivors of the original civilization continue to power their light-based magic through sacrifices. After one such sacrifice, Wanderer steals the sword and the recently sacrificed girl and bring them to Dormin in the hopes of having her resurrected. After the events of the game, Wanderer grows up and has a family, some of which are born with horns, reminiscent of those he recieved after his extensive contact with Dormin.

By this point the people had stopped sacrificing people to power their technologies, having noticed just in time that they were on the verge of creating another Dormin-like entity. However, they feared the threat of Dormin's return, which they saw in the descendants of Wanderer, and as such they took these children to an ancient fortress where they would be contained in sarcophagi, utilizing the last of the light-magic they'd had stored. But unknown to them, the queen who ruled over the castle had made a deal with Dormin, and instead of containing the essences of the children, she used the ancient technologies to harvest them, bringing Dormin closer to fully re-emerging in the material world. Then the events of Ico happen.

[charlesboyce]

It felt to me as if the Last Guardian was set waaay before the other two.

[reidparker]

Man, I am completely convinced that SotC is a prequel to ICO by x years, but I am sitting awake wondering how in the Hell TLG fits into the universe. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is IN the universe, but when? Does the Boy have any significance? What are the Master of the Valley and the Tricos?
Also, somebody needs to start a ICO PS4 remaster petition.

[tofufregit]

I read somewhere a theory I found interesting about how The Last Guardian hints the origins of the cult of Dormin. Once the White Tower/Nest collapsed and so did the machinery that kept the place operational, the Tricos not being controlled anymore had no choice but to regurgitate their most recently captures -aka the children w/ marks on their bodies instead of offering them to the Nest. These people could had gathered and formed their own society, then started their own religion based on the worship of a collective entity formed by the first settlers of this new town (the marked people). Remember that Dormin referred to himself as 'we' in SOTC and had both masculine and feminine voice. It's not an obvious reference as the baby with horns at the end of SOTC, but it sounds like a reasonable and an interesting possibility to me.

[AshenSpark]

The way I took it was that they're each different eras of the same civilization and the god of that world just went by different names throughout the ages. Making the Master of the Valley, Dormin, and The Queen different iterations of the same being. The similar architecture would insinuate that it's all from the same civilization.

[still_guns]

I've assumed that the Master of the Valley uses the children as fuel, and what it gives out in the barrels is a waste product of sorts. Like, the Master used everything in the children it could use, and packed the stuff it couldn't into the barrels. So that stuff, although tinged blue by the processes of the Master, is far more nutritious than a normal human, because of concentration and stuff.

I'd go into it further, but I'm currently planning my own video.

[mr.r]

My theory for what is happening is as follows:
Shadow Of The Colossus is a prequel like Ueda said, due to Wander becoming the first horned boy at the end, and I would like you to take note of the fact that in Shadow Of The Colossus, there's a beach that looks extremely similar to Ico's Beach during the watermelon ending. As I was saying, Wander becomes the first horned boy, and Mono, who was reincarnated using Dormin's dark magic, needs to harvest the dark energy of the cursed horned children in order to sustain her existence as a dark reanimation. That's right, she sacrifices Wander, but his curse persists, infecting child after child. The people of the Village, fearing the return of Dormin, make a deal with Mono, now the Queen. She would take the horned boys and keep the village safe, unbeknownst to the Village people, she was harvesting these boys to sustain herself, until Ico arrived. Ico struggled against his doomed fate and escaped the Queen clutches, obtaining the Queen's Sword, most likely a reforging of the Ancient Sword or a different sword entirely, and slays the Queen, escaping the tower as it collapses and Yorda inherits the Queen's power. Alternatively, in the Watermelon ending, the beach that Ico and Yorda appear on is in none other than The Forbidden Lands themselves. And it all ended where it started, or so it would seem. Truthfully, I don't know when the events of the Last Guardian happen, but I do know this, the village that the protagonist is from is different from the Village in Ico and SOTC, and I know that due to the lack of the cloaks that Ico, Wander, and The Shaman wore. Also, something noteworthy, the protagonist of TLG ends up in a valley controlled by a dark being. Now look at Colossus, Wander enters the Forbidden Lands and the only way in is a bridge. It's a sheer drop. It's a *valley* . I think The Last Guardian tells an eerily familiar yet different tale, about a cursed boy who awakens in a strange place and attempts to escape with a new companion. Both the Valley and The Forbidden Lands are ruled by dark creatures who were sealed away be humans. Dormin, when he was split into 16 pieces, and the Master, who was trapped in an ancient temple with the mirror to defeat him if need be. I think these stories are about dark magical beings who rule over parts of the world (be it valleys, castles, etc) who are defeated by humanity but still dwell in the shadows, Shadow Of Colossus showed us what happens to humans who make deals with devils and risk everything to bring back people they love. Ico showed us the aftermath of the deal with aforementioned devil, and how a desire to bring someone back can twist them. And The Last Guardian showed us that Dormin wasn't the only dark being that was sealed away in a forgotten
I love these games with all my heart, and though I may not have played all of them, I still care deeply about them. Truthfully, though, I don't think we'll see another game from Team Ico, as much as I'd love that final puzzle piece to piece it all together, I think I just have to be happy with what I have. These games are very personal for me, and very nostalgic, and I just want to say that they are some of the best things I have ever seen. If you disagree with my theory, let me know what you see wrong so I can fix it. Thank you for reading until this point, and Thank you Team Ico for making these wonderful, beautiful

[E-Z_Gamerz]

It's a reverse trilogy. After the events of the last guardian the sword was created, it was kept a place where nobody could find it. Wanderer finds it and steals it in the Demise of his loved one and heads to the land of the last guardian. After the events of SOTC, if you remember when Dormin talked. It was not only a mans voice but a woman and Dormin considered itself as we not I. The male version comes back as wanderer and dies, but what was half is now one is mono when she wakes up at the end...she goes on to become the queen in ICO hence the mortal part of the story is love. For some reason children are rarely born with horns due to this Adam and Eve story. A descendent of her creation of children (ICO) rebels against his known destiny and falls in love with the queens daughter...rescuing her she sacrifices herself for his well being survival. The end of the story.

[dion]

This is the most likely and thought through explanation I've heard. I just see one flaw. The Trico's weren't created after the humans fled the valley. There are statues of them throughout the city, showing they were there with the humans. I think their original purpose was to help with construction.

[Adam-ktnl]

the connection I see is that wander reborn with horns is the first of the horned children, therefore ico is decedent of wander, along with the other sacrifices in that game, and the last guardian is you playing as a young Lord Emon who was the shaman that sealed away wander in shadow of the colossus. Along with all shadow, light, and cultural connections. Good video.

[ballman]

I know I'm quite late to the party now, but I appreciate this thoughtful video about the connection between these games.

My only contribution is that I have a different interpretation of the villagers. I can't recall Ico exactly because it's been a while, but I feel like the villagers in each game haven't rebelled against the powers of the valley/nest/etc., but more that they are complicit in the system those powers have imposed on them, making sacrifices in an attempt to appease that power. Each game seems like a story about young people rebelling against the entire system that has failed them. The story of TLG does contradict this a little, as the villagers don't play a direct role in the sacrifice. I think I see this as perhaps reflecting a parallel change of heart in the creators, who might be able to better empathize with the elders of a powerless community as they have themselves aged and had more life experience.

[frinkulon]

My theory (spoiler alert)




I believe that the games order goes last guardian, shadow of the colossus, ico

Once upon a time there was a civilisation of people. They had a ruler who passed but in an effort to bring their leader back they placed him/her in the sarcophagus where you get the mirror and created the master of the valley (who I believe is dormin). They captured children and placed them into the bird statue at the top of the tower, giving dormin the shadow portion, thus increasing his power, and ejecting the light portion as the glowing liquid in the barrels. One day dormin decided to take control of the tricos to automate the process, thus killing all of the citizens of the valley. Then The events of the last guardian happened, and when dormin explodes his essence is sent to the forbidden lands and the valley is destroyed. The forbidden lands contained a large supply of light energy and fused with dormins dark energy forming the colossi. Lord eamon found out about the incident and banned access to the area. Then the events of shadow of the colossus happened. Wander(is that how you spell it?) becomes a horned child carrying the essence of dormin. When mono and baby wander return to their village the essence spreads, creating the horned children . The rest is basically what he said in the video about ico. Then the events of ico happen. And so far the end.

Tell me what you think (I'm open to complements and criticism)

[anteniiyt]

I feel like the more notiacable one is about the ying-yang of darkness and light, it somehow seems to make the most sense when linked with the colour turquoise. There's something about this colour, it could be the colour to show that this is a magical property of goodness, light, or power. As mentioned, the colossi are made of the same entity, the same power, and through the cracks in their skin, turquoise shows. Their eyes also glow turquoise at times (mostly), and so do virtually all of the shadow creatures/living beings. (e.g. Demon Wander, Dormin, The Knights, Trico from time to time, The Shadow Children). But I think there's something more to this. The Master of The Valley, in fact, glows turquoise, and bears symbols, like the little boy. So do the symbols when you're captured by the Knights, and when the rest of Trico's race put the children into some sort of food dispenser. It seems to be some sort of ancient or forbidden magic. The Master of The Valley's symbols not only are very similar or the same to the boy's, this could possibly mean that, when the boys are put into the food dispenser and the barrel shoots out, the barrel is full of the turquoise (which could be their life essence). But the question is- the horned children are put into the sarcophagus and the life energy is sucked out of them to keep the queen alive, then the children are turned into the Shadow Children. It could be the same with the guards and the Master of The Valley. The children could have the life energy sucked out of them, then turned into Shadow Creatures. The energy could be sucked in by the Master of The Valley, to keep it the most powerful being there, so it is not overridden. Then, the darkness which is left over, could most likely be suited and controlled by the Master of The Valley.
Just a theory.

[bryanevans]

My theory is that Dormin once used the master of the valley to control the humans which lead to the civilization seen in the nest. Dormin also created the Tricos to serve as attack/guard dogs over the humans and the animated armour to control the Tricos. A group of humans rebelled against Dormin and fled the nest and established civilization elsewhere such as the one in TLG and from this village the shaman who shattered Dormin. The sixteen pieces were scattered to the forbidden land in the South. The Tricos continued to do their master's bidding for the next X amount of years and during this time the ancient sword was passed down to the shaman from SOTC. The events of TLG occur during this time. Shadow's shaman later sacrifices Mono and his student Wander (who would have been taught of spiritual matters by his teacher) sets off to bring her back. Cue SOTC's events. After Wander is reduced to an infant Mono takes care of him and discovers a nearby castle. Later becoming the evil Queen and Wander the first of the shadow children. The descendants of TLG's boy become the horned children due to their ancestors contact with Dormin's creations. Cue Ico. That's just my theory and how I've pieced it together.

[Dynamitethedrummer]

One thing is for sure, we are blessed by this amazing storytelling

[nakkipatukka]

9:28 the soldier that's carrying the boy looks like