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. ;)

The Sympathetic Usurper: Zant from Twilight Princess

(Credit: DeviantART user StellaB)

Yes, yes, Zant did some evil things. He usurped Princess Midna and turned her into an imp, transformed his own people into an army of vicious monsters, invaded Hyrule, and shaped it into a nether realm full of scared, lost spirits.

But can you blame him?

"The people of our tribe...were locked away in this world like insects in a cage."

The Twilight Realm was created to be a prison. Much of the Twili, including the royal family, simply didn't care about their situation anymore. Not Zant. He was a man who longed for the world of light and all its desires, excitement, and impermanence. In the constant, unchanging Twilight Realm, the only opportunity for someone like this was power.

It may be pretty, but there ain't much to do around the Twilight Realm.

Zant states that he sought power legitimately at first, and he "endured in that depraved household" for that chance. The Twili, however, were not the sort to give power lightly, and Zant's ambition scared them. Thus, his only option left was the pact he made with his "god", the Demon Thief Ganondorf.

The best comparison I can could up with was an outgoing, inquisitive child growing up in an enclosed Amish or Mennonite community. The kid longs for something he can't quite identify (Internet, fame, etc.), but his aspirations are quelled by his conservative family and friends.

Ultimately, Zant was a suppressed visionary who seized upon the first possibility of success he could find.