The game has always had great art direction and art direction can genuinely make a game age like fine wine. For a PS2 title, it is insane it looked like that to begin with plus the gameplay
Yup I remember that out of there mouths back in the day But man it just shows how far team ICO pushed the processing power of the PS2 and boy did they do and crazy that we never really saw another game like this again even post ps2 well aside from God of war 3 ps3 to ps4 and that gods and heaven indie game whatever it was called lol edit Prayer for gods I think the name was Anyway Man do I remember seeing shadow of the colossus for the first time when it was still in development in a game magazine saying how far will you go for love Second I also remember hearing about it again in early beta stages on a gaming channel with the guy saying you basically fight gigantic size bosses in this game when showing off a beta fight with wander on the giants back in a beta map area that had vines and shiii MAN I FEEL OLD LMAO 🤣
@@GarzaGooseYou unironically using the term normies is laughable. I got the experience Shadow of the Colossus through the remaster simply because I was just being born when the PS2 was out. If you really loved this work of art you'd be happy that even more people who didn't get the chance will be inspired by it. In a world where we get garbage like FF7 Remake that actually does remove the heart and soul from the original, it's so sad seeing you complain about what is overall a very faithful remaster. What reductive and sad gatekeeping.
Best horse in all of gaming Imo, you don't control her as a character but as a horse, you aren't the horse you are Wander making Agro move, it's simply amazing.
I love that they made it realistic but it cpuld definitely be frustrating at times lol. I died like 5 times on the bridge part before malus because agro wouldn't run fully for whatever reason.
I get what you're saying but its just insanely clunky and definitely hurts the experience. I think RDR2 pulled off the "horse as a horse and not a character" thing way better and it was much easier to control
@@chrism0ltisantiwhen you’re looking at a RU-vid short it doesn’t, but on an actual TV with controller in hands it does (except for the face model, but that’s basically it).
@@STOPPEDINCOLORADO Yes it does. Perfectly playable despite some slowdowns and sweet 480p too! Absolutely outstanding for PS2. Although I still believe Metal Gear Solid 3 has better graphics overall, especially considering the crazy amount of 3D grass in that game.
@@VergilHiltsLT i just played through the ps2 version again and the game barely hits 10fps at points. It's playable because its not very difficult but it struggles at times
@@STRANGXRnothing says keeping a community alive like actively gatekeeping and calling anyone who doesn't prefer the exact version you played as a child a fortnite-playing toddler. you make real fans look bad.
While the ps4/5 remaster by Bluepoint Games really does a great job in many ways, I still prefer the original ps2 version (or the ps3 remaster, which was also done by Bluepoint) partly because of its bleached, saturated color palette. Not only did this emphasize the arid, sterile lifelessness and hauntingly ancient character of the landscape - which are crucial for the thematic narrative of the game - but it also reinforced the cursed supernatural influences that have impregnated the land and how this place truly does stand precariously between the realms of purgatory and death (which parallels, of course, with the fate of the girl that Wander is ferociously fighting to revive). Unfortunately, the recent remaster completely misses this and instead indiscriminately injects swathes of lush greenery on nearly every part of the map while simultaneously neutralizing the harsh coloring of the environment’s traditional settings, and as a result, the Forbidden Lands now look exactly like any other pocket of an isolated but thriving wilderness. Thus unlike the original game, in which coming across a stray bird, lizard, or fruit-laden tree was a rare and memorable experience, the latter version erases the impact of these seemingly innocuous experiences. That may sound like an insignificant detail, but in a game that has an exceptionally minimalist structure, getting the small things right is absolutely critical. And this was, of course, what made (and continues to make) Fumito Ueda a legendary video game director. Along with making the mistake of assuming greater realism is always the better option rather than considering the symbolic impact of the visual medium, perhaps the ps4 developers also concluded that toning down the original visual settings would improve visibility for the players. While this is technically true in some cases, I again believe this is a mistake because it has the underlying assumption that pure performance is always a game’s top priority - an assumption that consistently neglects the sometimes greater importance of narrative impact. For example, in the original version of the game, making Wander suddenly look up at the sky will result in the player almost being blinded by a pure blanket of painfully bright, yellow-white light that stretches in every possible direction. Even after the camera slightly adjusts to the gleam, it’s still almost impossible to make out anything in the sky, except for the occasional silhouette of a bird in flight, or most importantly, the pulsating beams piercing the heavens that mark the deaths of previously defeated colossi. As such, the intensity of the visual forces the player to slow down in order to actually identify what they are seeing. This allows time for quiet reflection, perhaps on the fact that the pillars of light perforate directly into the realm that Dormin may have been residing in during the prologue of the game (before being unexpectedly alerted by Wander’s use of the ancient sword), or that this contrast of light on light plays with the concept of shadow itself, a major theme of the game (as suggested by its title). But in the ps4/5 edition all of this is completely lost in the redesign of the sky being a typical, nondescript blue, and therefore the light pillars likewise lose their intensity as they lack an accompanying visual context. In some ways they become nothing more than a tally system which the player can lazily count while quickly scanning the horizon, or, if one can’t be bothered to press the toggle button for the map, are a means of determining one’s relative location to the now fallen beasts and their respective landscapes - all while the player fails to consider what should be their aberrant and ephemeral setting. And without revealing any spoilers, all of this is made even more crucial at the end of the game in which the symbolic contrast between environmental life and death is paramount to the core narrative and understanding the outcome of Wander’s choices. Part of the irony here is that in other categories like the original game’s controls and mechanics - such as their occasionally questionable responsiveness and maneuverability - the developers of the ps4/5 remaster intentionally chose to retain some of the original feeling of the ps2 version, often to the criticism and consternation of players. Thus the remaster team demonstrated that they did, in fact, pay attention to the question of how to preserve the original intent of the developers while bringing the game to a modern audience. The problem, I believe, is that like most people who work in the video game industry, this question usually extends only to concerns over performance, technical ability, and visual/audio coherence. There is not nearly enough care given to thematic content, symbolism, the shaping of narrative, and the emotional and psychological character of the game itself. We are, after all, talking about a director who, in his previous title Ico, insisted that his animators meticulously recreate the intimate act of holding Yorda’s hand and watching her shoulders jut slightly as you move in a direction she wasn’t expecting, followed by her feet slowly catching up to the rhythm of her upper body trailing toward you; or the way Yorda pads nervously in front of a gaping chasm, nervously eyeing Ico’s outstretched hand before leaping awkwardly, arms flailng outward as she desperately tries to reach the other side. Even when Ico catches her, he is violently yanked to the ground by her acceleration, and he struggles with the halting and tender strength of a child to pull Yorda up to safety. When she has finally reached the top and gained her footing, they stand together for a moment, breathless. Then taking her hand, Ico is off once more in a flurry of movement, and Yorda follows in earnest and uncoordinated anticipation. Small wonder, then, that even years later players still testify to the seemingly inexplicable anxiety and responsibility they felt for Yorda as they staved off ink-black spirits and battled a maleficent demon queen of the night. In short, while essentially all video games do to an extent have some relationship between gameplay and visual presentation, in Ueda’s Shadow of the Colossus this link is absolutely vital and in many ways encapsulates the core messaging and meaning of the game itself (which, really, is what all great games seek to do). The ps5 remaster shows that the developers at Bluepoint Games, at least in this most recent iteration, passionately poured hours into making the game visually lush and and more lifelike, without properly considering the way in which this would fundamentally alter the experience and meaning of the game itself. Granted, gamers are not usually a distinguishing bunch beyond assessing the assortment of weaponry and attack combos available, and given that the ps5 remaster was created in the hopes of bringing a critically acclaimed indie game into the mainstream market, these changes are understandable. But that doesn’t mean they are necessarily better for the game, and as I have hopefully demonstrated, they actually detract in significant ways from what was, in the original version, a constellation of visual characteristics that collectively crafted one of the most affecting and poignant narratives I have ever experienced in my life.
Reading this was a treat, it really encapsulates a lot of my feelings on the remake, and Fumito Ueda's design philosophy. Thank you for that. It's a shame that, much like with the Resident Evil 2 Remake, many people will quickly dismiss any critique as one being "blinded by nostalgia", as if any the graphics existed in a vaccum...
@@theendisnear6351 thank you! That means a lot, I started off writing the post in the comments and before I knew it I had switched over to my notes app to really get everything out that I wanted to say 😂 I’m glad it seemed to capture at least in some sense the magic inherent in the game itself. And I know what you mean, it seems like today nostalgia is such an overwhelming factor in not just videos games but movies and tv shows that it’s hard to find a dialogue that isn’t dominated by the topic in some way? Like you said, I think people like to find one single category to dismiss a product or opinion with rather than consider a network of interrelated decisions - and that’s not surprising, because it takes way more work to think through all that!
I feel like the PS3 remaster, which is the same game as the Ps2 with additional hardware, is the best way to appreciate the game, though I do love the look that the PS4 remake goes for as well
Most of my games were hand me downs from my brother. But this was the first one I ever genuinely saved money for, and went to GameStop to buy a used PS2 copy for $15. Amazing
Honestly I’m impressed this all runs in a PS4, games like Uncharted 4, Tlou 2 are all proofs that the PS5 exclusive are just upscaled textures and a lack of motivation to port them on PS4. A small detail but shows how future game developers are just lazy and release unfinished mess with no optimization
one of the best games iv'e ever played/finished , the action and soundtrack gave me chills and electricity , the story , map and boss battles was wise 💥💯👍🏼
I think the dark contrasty colors look so much better. I wish the PS5 version had that. The graphics are great and everything but there isn’t any artistic mood lighting
The PS2/PS3 graphics looks good for a game that came out in 2005, even though it could have used a PSP port. Although I can’t help but feel like that Shadow of the Colossus is the T rated version of Kingdom Hearts due to Wander looking like Sora, Dormin looking like a Heartless and the soundtrack of both games sounding very similar. The PS4/PS5 version does improve a lot from the original in terms of Colossi design and environment, giving it a more realistic feel. But then there’s the problem of how Lord Emon and Wander looked as if they are kinda creepy looking. But Mono looks beautiful in the PS4/PS5 version the same way she looked in the PS2/PS3 version. She always looked like a fairy tale or Disney Princess in need of a true love’s kiss, sort of like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.
The way the in game sound effects have been upgraded is my favorite thing about the remake. The old sound effects were great too but wanders foot steps sounded a bit generic.
@@LordofCicadas Cosmetically mostly, but mechanically they are actually a bit different for vets, rolling for example is far slower than just walking in the ps4 version, colossus AI is wonky and the shaking is noticeably different to the original
@@InfernalBl4dezi noticed that too there was certain aspects that were missing also i personally love some of the more soft light from the ps2 at a time when everything was orange this game was insanely pleasant
Same. Just like I prefer the PS2 San Andreas version over any other one despite being the "worst" version. The old graphics vibe is one of the charms of the game.
The ps2 version looks absolutely way ahead of its time. The only thing holding it back is the pixals and the lack of quality but the gameplay looks the exact same.
Makes me understand how far we have come with graphics these days stunning! Loved the PS2 memory wise playing this game for the first time but the graphics give me an absolute headache to watch at. I prefer the PS5 then.
i have two tv in my living room, one for retro games, one for new games. Brother brought his ps5 over and we played shadow of the colossus side by side on the ps2 and ps5. the difference is staggering.
PS2 has more momentum. Lots of objects react to movement and Wander's lower body feels like they carry his upper body like 2 separate units which gave a feeling of intense effort from the character. PS5 feels subtly more "pre-animated" and Wander's body functions more as 1 animated unit. The momentum feels premade and not rendered real-time with the rest of the world.
Crazy that the PS2 version looks so much better and has more clear artistic decisions. Like Ps5 is higher res and more detailed but a ton of the stylization is just gone.
@@mikeyb0121 They had a bloom dream-like aesthetic that other games of that company has, it's not just "worse graphics", it's a deliberate decision. I really love the new SOTC remaster but the game wasn't made by the same company and it does not follow the exact same mood and aesthetic.
I would have throw the PS3 version of the game in too because at least it would be higher resolution. Disregarding the fact I prefer the art direction of the original better it would also he interesting to demonstrate how the original game would look with a better resolution and frame rate.
ps2 debe verse en tv de tubo y el otro igual,por eso la diferencia ridicula. Uno esta en altisima definicion,es un remake tiene mas poligonos,mekors efectos todo,mas potencia.
@@BIGD-cc7ru Agreed. Now, Dead Space being a complete remake (not just a remaster like this was) 15 years later is a great example of how amazing the original looked.
She is correct. The remake's graphics doesn't make everybody say the ps2 looks like Nintendo in comparison. Of anything many say the PS5 ruins the look and feel of the vision of the game
It did have better graphics. You were probably using a TV for it, this footage is what happens when you remove all the TV filters that they take into account when making those games. Look up "CRT", it's not just your memory being nostalgic and making things prettier, things were ACTUALLY prettier lol.
They removed all the art and effects the og had. A remake that strips all the important artistic designs in favor of a straight polygon increase is not a good remake.
PS4* sadly. I wish there was a PS5 version. Sure, playing this game on a PS5 consistently maxes out the *30fps framecap*, but calling it the PS5 version is misleading by definition since the current release does not take full advantage of the next-gen hardware.
It is actually but only because the games were made for CRT from old TVs, the same thing happens with Devil May Cry 3 from ps2, it looks way cleaner when you play it on an old TV because they made the game with that in mind.
I played/finished this game for the 1st time last week & omg the controls are horrendous 😂 There’s a good game in there, but you have to get used to that horrible control scheme
No man, 16th is the magic number, otherwise the game would over stay its welcome, if you got the thirst for the game after beating it nothing prevents you from another run
