Hidden Symbolism in The Last Guardian 

Dude after you told us you were quiting youtube as a full time job it's nice to see you still making good content. All the best in your future endeavours!

Although I think Shadow of the Colossus is a much easier sell for most people, I wouldn’t say it’s miles better than Ico or The Last Guardian.

love your videos. keep going, man. enjoy making these as much as we enjoy watching them. and be well :)

Absolutely brilliant MAX!!! Thank you for this! You are definitely a creator that inspires me and I wish you well

You have some of the best insight into symbolism in gaming, thanks so much for your content. I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of Team Ico’s work thanks to you.

Great video man, keep up the good work

Trico is so cute😭

Never stop making this videos dude. Time will reward you with more views.

hey! spoiler alert! I didn’t finish playing ico yet!

I just finished the game today. First time crying over a virtual animal and I miss Trico already!

Well, about giant eyes - this game made by japanese people. In Japanese culture and tradition they are using giant eyes-figures or painting as some kind of scarecrow. Birds don't like when they see eyes - they think that this is the eyes of some predator. p.s. - sorry for my bad English, but i hope you got what i mean.

I actually heard in an interview (pre release) that they had inspiration from many different sources, but architecturally a lot was derived from ancient Latin America (The Aztecs, Mayans, Olmecs) which makes sense, because if you've ever visited the ruins in Mexico, there's A LOT that reflects TLG. In the decorative carvings along the architecture, I even seen a creature that looked like Trico funnily enough, except it had the head of a Jaguar instead of a Canine looking one.

There's an Eye of Nazar hanging next to the exit of my home. I can confirm people usually say it fends off evil. You'll find them in many turkish househoulds and souvenir shops. Also, Sümer (Sumeria) is a woman's name in my country.

In my humble opinion, The Last Guardian is the best of the lot.

Last guardian is underrated. The AI is fantastic. Great vid

I would love to see Max's takes on Bloodborne's lovecraftian themes

Hello Max. I wanted to thank you for creating such incredible content. The amount of research and editing put into each video is insane and I've probably watched all of your content at least 3 times per video. Keep pumping out videos at your own pace. You have at least 1 life long fan that's willing to wait.

I can't wait to see how The Last Guardian will perform on the PS5

I've just completed all three games for the first time. All are amazing experiences. TLG just hits different. It's rare to have such an emotional attachment to a video game but I love Trico so much. SotC is surprisingly my least favorite. Although it's amazing and beautiful in its own right, the world just feels too empty for me to have any kind of connection to anything. Ico was just a classic. I could sit and play it from start to end in one sitting. So glad I went back to experience these great games. They are a work of art.

This game got a lot of hate, but I just finished my 3rd playthrough and I still adore it.

Comments are good for the RU-vid algorithm

It could very much still be Lilith, it was VERY common for newer upcoming religions to absorb previous established religions and reference their icons as "evil, demons" and the like.

10:38 We still have these as a repellant of evil in every house in Iran. very interesting video; even though I see these iconographies very often, I didn't make a connection while playing through The Last Guardian. Very interesting take. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huma_bird Also wanted to note that the mythical creature Huma kinda resembles the creature in the game (but again every griffin like creatre looks the same).

I love your videos. You are the best.

I learn something new every video, I wish the world watched your channel!😄 (Ya hear that algorithm? Do ya? DO YA?!) 😂

Wouldn't this warrant a little bit more research than a couple wikipedia pages?

Apparently the glass eyes worked as Trico won't go past them, just in the same way many types of birds stay away from buildings that have a fake owl resting on them. Those birds instinctively know the owl is a predator & therefore they keep away, not realizing the owl is fake. Apparently something in the past put fear into the Trico's that the glass eyes are deadly & can harm them or even kill them, not realizing that, at least from what we see in the game, the glass eyes can do them no harm. As usual Max interesting theory/discussion.

Ah, I love this series so much. It's a shame ICO and Guardian don't get the same amount of spotlight as Shadow; they all hit just the right note of ambiguity and mystery. Which in turn leads to great analysis such as this.

Great content Max as always. Kudos.

Just finished the game today (August 22, 2021) I've never played Ico nor Shadow of the Colossus, and of course, wasn't even aware at all of The Last Guardian's story/lore and when I finished it, I couldn´t believe the beautiful yet distressing experience/journey I just went through, it was magical and unlike any other game I've played before. I wanna play Ico and Shadow of the Colossus now, then replay The Last Guardian.

Wow, you made so many neat connections in this video! When I played the game Trico reminded me a lot of Simorgh, a benevolent deity in Persian mythology. She's described as having the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the face of a dog.

these games are, as a great man once said, "they're masterworks all, you can't go wrong"

If you want something else to dive into. Apparently Dormin’s original name in shadow of the colossus was going to be Nimrod and the temple looks like the Tower of Babel.

For a guy who, "Quit RU-vid", he sure is putting out a lot of content...

That Anzu artwork by Kazuma Kaneko 10/10 ❤️

Man I just beat The last guardian on ps5 last night, even tho sometimes the control did feel a bit clunky, I did enjoy the game and story a lot. The ending is def really good. Made me tear up, can't lie haha I'm just wondering what the master of the valley really is? Dormin?

I see max, i click. Be like me. I actually came here from some jordan peterson content on my lunch break

The last guardian Dormen is the brid bc the trico is color black like dormen and the brid is trying to help you Shadow of the colossus Now you need help dormen now bc her body sliced to 16th colossuses

sounds like a load of crap speculation.

7:00 Gilgamesh is not the brother of Inanna. Gilgamesh is a King and inanna is a goddess. But yes, he helped her for the tree.

Thanks for talking about the last guardian Max ❤️ love ur channel

I feel like the last guardian also took some inspiration from the manga for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Spoilers but if you have read it, I'm referring to not only the whole spooky eye symbolism and Nausicaa literally travelling on a giant creature, but also the final pages with the master of the crypt...which also happens to be a big ball...

Nice to see you back in this format. Another job well done. Take’r easy, man

Lilith, as we all know, was Frasier’s ex wife

Oh thank goodness. You always provide amazing looks into the Holy Trinity of gaming. Edit: And by Holy Trinity I mean ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. In my opinion the three greatest games in gaming history. My opinion.

You said these games are works of art. Thank You! I get in the argument that "games can be art" online all the time a lot of people say they can't be but just look at games like Journey that game is totally art

Great video

I realized a long time ago that “you learn something new every day”. You could also say “you learn something new with every Max Derrat instalment”. The level of research that you put into each video is incredible. I’m sure I speak for the majority around here that you are a top quality producer and thank you for the insight you present to those fortunate to stumble upon your work. Keep well and keep doing what you’re doing at your own pace.

Man, thanks for all the videos on Jung and directing me to the boyos! If you only knew how much clarity you've brought to my foggy mind.

Always glad to see investigations into Ueda's games here on RU-vid. I kind of took the obvious route and considered the eyes to be illuminist and Trico's mindcontrol victomhood to be the result of proto-MK ultra, (note the salient presence of butterflies throughout the game)

I love this! I wish youtube’s algorithm wasn’t so whack and i wish more people saw this, your work really keeps me up contemplating and reflecting on in the shower.

I loved Shadow of the Colossus. I re downloaded it for ps4 last week. Never got to play Ico or The Last Guardian yet. I'm looking forward to it.

It's quite astonishing the level of research you put into their claims and the surrounding context that they may have misunderstood. I'm sort of obsessed with some aspects of ancient cultures and love to see parallels in modern media. Sometimes I feel the essence of these old stories are being forgotten but I am always reminded that they are being kept alive by artists of all stripes.

Lamassu are Aliens coming from the Sky

I believe that there is some debate on Lilith in Sumerian myth and that it may have been a race of 'night creatures' that ate babies, rather than the singular being that was later found in Christian Apocrypha as a mate of Adam (and that this story is actually a satire of female rights arguments happening at the time)

SotC the best... wow. That's a consensus? I liked SotC, but I really thought Ico was the stronger game. Last Guardian definitely is the best game though. All of this, needless to say, is completely subjective.

Interesting how the eyes are placed in such a way that the areas they are placed in are specifically off-limits to the Trico.

didn't you just say you were gonna play relevancy in your last video? do what you want man!

I have not played Eco but I prefer TLG much better then Shadow. I actually rage quit Shadow. When it comes to Trico I am a pet owner and really appreciated the amount of effort the team put in to make him feel so lifelike. For that alone I much preferred The Last Guardian.

Dont even need to watch the video to know it's good, but I'll still watch it!

How could I not see this before. Sumarian! Of course I haven't played The Last Guardian, and never finished the other 2, but they always felt like they were set in an Easternized version of the cradle of civilization.

I hope Team Ico makes another game. I love their work!

I'm wearing "eye of Nazar" earrings right now, as it's known to fend off evil, and peoples' jealousy/bad thoughts towards you. I'm not Turkish nor do I live there btw. Here it's just known as "The Eye".

Sry, I understood nothing, cuz....the way u guys talk english is diff. From mine, also....I don't rlly talk english tho.... also what i thought was 1. Trico was originated by Griffins, also...having a cat-like body, beak, wings and legs of a bird 2. The eye glass thingy that scares trico is kinda related to the eyes of trico, like....maybe...trico dont like these, also knowing that its eyes are black....it might be the case

Mesopotamia ummmmm..... Ishtarin and Erinkigal. *Insert FGO references here*

Hearing Sumerian after just watching the Ghostbusters made my mind go "Is the master Gozer?" for a sec 🤭

Lilith wasn’t invented until ad 400-500. Lilith has not been adopted by Hebrew tradition. I would give that thought a deeper look if I were you.

wow very good find and nice vid, ty mate!

Amazing video max keep up the good work. I hope to see more MGS and Silent Hill videos in the future.

Have all 3. I gave up on The Last Guardian due to the obnoxious controlling rules for the "guardian". So did you collaborate this with the devs if this was true or is this just your bullshit? Betcha that some elements are in the game because it looked good, and no other reason than that. Certainly has been done many times before. A dev wanted a pet in the game, or something just looks cool, and this was the reason it was included. Of course people such as yourself just have to tangent off to find meaning/relations where there is none.

Wow! I never thought about the myths that could have inspired the last guardian! And honestly, I find them great :D I'm glad to see a TLG content in 2020 (it's 2021 rn, but still pretty recent)

Unfortunately I cannot seem to find the Japanese name anymore, however, eye balloons, referred to as "Terror Eyes" in the English language are something that the Japanese have been using for a long time, though obviously not always as balloons. These are used to scare off birds instead of a scarecrow. I have no definitive confirmation on it, but I'm assuming that these had a lot to do with the idea for the eye stained glass devices used in "The Last Guardian".

The relief carving of the creature at 7:40 appears to have a skull-like face which at first threw me off like "That's not Trico!", until I realised the masks that the tricos wear have carvings of teeth and almost look like skulls.

Amazing games. The only thing I remember hating was getting Trico to dive in the water lol

I found TLG stale after a few hours in. I never finished it. It just didn't instill the sense of wonder to a level that I wanted to finish and, more importantly, explore it over and over.

Babylonian AI. The cyclical rising and falling of civilization.

the knack with the last guardian to me is that 2 cultures clashed by the 2 kinds of buldings u often see, a more stoney/foresty zones, and a more chalk white/magical/glassy zones. Like if the master of the valley had invaded and build on top of other civilization. The theme for me goes on contradictions, u dont know how the trico species were trained or if they were created. and how the villages outside the valley are raid once in a while of kids but seemengly also being protected since they stay there, and even the lizards are took from Shadow of the colossus, indicating its the same area over time, so u dont know if the lore itself it took from there. How the shadow guards actually attack you instead of guard something. And ur kidnaper actually protects you. Also the tale about becoming friends with a demon and how the master of the valley was actually the bad guy, and protecting eye sigils actually leaving you defenseless, etc So yeah, this talking about how its a clash of cultures, and confusion, and misleads seems on theme, it being, the last guardian is a story being told about an explanation, a clarification.

Oh god fuck no, please don't use the american version of the Ico cover, I don't have enough bleach

All I know is the last guardian has the most photo realistic graphics of all time

The main point that perhaps should be made in the beginning of the video is that the Abrahimitic religions are rooted in Sumerian mythology.

8:48 Considering that many aspects of Hebrew mythology are derived from mythologies of groups that coexisted with the Hebrew people and their precursors and that the Sumerian religion and mythology was influential in the Middle East, it wouldn't be surprising if Lilith is a derivation of Lamashtu.

I just beat The Last Guardian today, so I can FINALLY watch your videos on this game lol

I liked the last guardian better than shadow of the collausus

Max, you must do at least ONE Shin Megami Tensei video, in IV and its sequel, IV: Apocalypse, Lillith and Inanna take big roles of the game's story, as well, many other gods and demons of many religions in general. Well, Lilith is almost present in all of the "Mainline" series as a whole. Just an FYI, Persona is considered as a "spin-off" series from "Mainline" SMT, they just added the title in the rest of the world to increase sales after Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne was released, and it will have now an HD Remaster on PS4 and Switch next year.

Love you vids dude, you are amazing 🙌🏻. Keep that great work

Certainly an interesting theory. While I imagine it may be a lot simpler and that the eyes are just meant to be wards to keep the Tricos from wandering into certain areas of the valley, the possible allusions to such mythological creatures and deities would be an interesting connection to make. Would be amazing to reach out to Ueda and ask about the many theories made by the communities of these games, if only to hear his reaction about what conclusions fans have come to.

Soon to be 4 team ico games. By soon I’m mean only years to go.

I could listen about this forever

i really really want to play ico i have a ps2 i want it so bad

Innana and lilith are the same creature, different face.

Have you seen the new game "Jung's Labyrinth" on steam?

I don't have anything to add to the analysis, but I'm leaving a comment for youtube algo :)

10:16 False, Catholicism is the one who adopts pagan beliefs because they are ancient rome disguised as Christianity, TRUE Christianity follows only Jesus Christ and the Word of God, the ones who mix with paganism are lukewarm. Team ico's games are full of nimrod and ishtar paganism, those two are the pagan origin and the eye is the all seeing eye of the devil that comes from ancient Egypt that it's also connected to nimrod and ishtar and it has become a common symbol nowadays through the subliminal work of the masonic elites who willingly follow the devil. If you don't have God in your life your mind will 100% receptive and vulnerable to the subliminal messages and evil influences and because you love the games/movies/music you will create an attachment to these pagan symbols and ideas. Seek God you will understand. Edit: changed video time.

11:04 Those things are Turkish I believe

What happens when you run out things to talk about? Have you reached that point already?

Underrated game. Great vid! :)

The 3 games are from the same world...

Ico NEEDS to be remastered!

You should do a Neon Genesis Video.

I hit the like button .