Decay and Restoration in Shadow of the Colossus

I've talked about decay and restoration as gameplay and plot elements in earlier posts. Many games charge the player character with restoring a decayed world, whether that means ousting a tyrant (think of the Lord Regent from Dishonored) or returning light to a realm (dispersing the Twilight in LoZ: Twilight Princess).

The restoration of Dormin, ironically, foreshadows more decay. Credit: Team Ico Wiki

Shadow of the Colossus is an interesting example in that the player's role in the decay-restoration cycle is not clear. Sure, Wander may be working to resurrect his love, Mono, but decay occurs all around him. The colossi, content to mind their own business, are systematically slaughtered by him, and their corresponding idols are reduced to dust. Moreover, Wander's own appearance and well-being deteriorates as he absorbs more parts of Dormin. Lastly, by reawakening Dormin, Wander produces the potential for even more degradation, as Dormin is evidently a destructive force that had to be sealed away.

The idea of decay is also present in the Forbidden Lands themselves. As Crumplecorn notes in his analysis of Shadow of the Colossus, the various pockets of lush forest or meadow within the vast wasteland of deserts, bare plains and scrub suggest the Forbidden Lands were once a thriving natural environment. With increasing habitat fragmentation, the larger species (e.g. the deer seen in the credits sequence) would have died out, but the lizards and birds remain.

The Forbidden Lands have decayed in terms of
both biology and civilization. Credit: Team Ico Wiki

Finally, the remnants of the ancient civilization that once dwelt in the Forbidden Lands are all over the place, from the third colossus's arena in the sky to the arches in the desert to the Shrine of Worship itself. One can only wonder what caused the decay of both the natural environment and the (presumably) human population. Perhaps this was the ancestral home of Wander's and Emon's people, destroyed by Dormin and abandoned once the being was sealed away. Only Fumito Ueda will ever know. ;)

Lanayru Sand Sea from Skyward Sword: Bittersweet Echoes from the Past

Start from 2:54 to see the Lanayru Sand Sea in all its glory. Credit: Youtube user SasukeIII

While both Wii Zelda games were excellent in their own right, ultimately, I felt that Twilight Princess's world was built with a complexity and care that wasn't always present in Skyward Sword.

An exception, of course, is the Lanayru Sand Sea. The desert area in general had already impressed me with the Timeshift Stones - an ingenious twist to time travel mechanics - and Lanayru Mining Facility, probably the most atmospheric and unique dungeon encountered up to that point in the game. The Sand Sea, however, is in another category entirely.

When I first boarded the ship equipped with the Timeshift Stone, I was amused that the sand around it had turned to water, as it would have been in the past. As I motored along, the motion was so smooth that I didn't realize what was actually happening: the consistent radius of the Timeshift Stone allowed the boat to sail, even as the water it had passed over seconds ago caught up with time and reverted to sand.

I swore in amazement as small islands and atolls popped up all around me, and the sand dispersed to reveal bright coral and limestone rock. I was creating beauty in a desolate world, only for it to disappear moments later.

As tantalizing as Knights in the Nightmare's themes of decay and restoration are, Skyward Sword adds a melancholy slant with the fact that the restoration is only temporary. This creates a great appreciation for the splendour of the Sand Sea's harbour past, and a sadness for its loss that surpasses a standard time travel approach.

Knights in the Nightmare Analysis 1: Decay and Restoration

(From Destructoid)

 Often cited as an under-appreciated gem, Knights in the Nightmare turned heads with its daring combination of bullet-hell and strategy elements. Often glossed over, however, are its impeccable atmosphere and themes, which perfectly complement the gameplay. (I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm on Scene 40 of approximately 46, so I think I can give a justified opinion.) (Also, spoilers ahead.)

Richard Terrell notes the prevalence of decay in his somewhat harsh, but well-written analysis of Knights' game design. Specifically, he mentions features like weapon degradation and the gradual loss of "Time" by attacking and getting hit by enemy attacks.

Decay is also an important aspect of Knights' story. Images of King Wilmgard in all his glory are presented after certain battles, showing the king speaking with all the grace of a just ruler, and insisting to his advisers that he must see the people, and put their needs first. It is this idealized version of the past which slowly decays both as the story progresses, and as the player learns more about Wilmgard.

As Cardinal Capehorn and his allies unfurl their claws, people mysteriously disappear. Monsters attack seemingly at random. The king and his retinue are regularly sent from the castle to deal with rumours of unrest. Ultimately, Law becomes Chaos (as reflected by the phase changes in the battle system), and by the time the murdered Wilmgard reawakens as the Wisp, Aventheim Castle has been taken over by the freaking King of the Underworld, and it seems like nearly everyone is dead.

Enter: King Wilmgard, Restorer of Aventheim

This is where the theme of restoration comes into play. Every scene, the player clears another area of monsters, or kills one of the bigger baddies. Each recruitment of a knight's soul is treated as a special moment, with some truly uplifting music to mark the occasion. Slowly, with the divine power of the Arbitrator, the Wisp is restoring the kingdom to its previous state, pushing away the darkness and filling it with light...

...but only up to a point. A pretty important point, I might add. While the state of the kingdom starts at rock-bottom and only improves, the player's opinion of Wilmgard starts pretty high and only decreases. This man may have been a great warrior and leader, but he was easily duped by Capehorn, and his parenting skills of Nordich leave much to be desired (spoiled brat!). Worst of all, however, is how he deals with other races, and his extremely narrow approach to diplomacy (read: violence).

More on that in my next post...