Its unusual for me to pick up a book that was adapted from a video game. The last time I picked up a game-to-print adaptation were for some Ace Attorney manga a few years ago. So it’s not really a frequent affair for me. But I was drawn to the ICO novelization due to how the game handled its storytelling. I was interested to see how the license would be handled, how much it would differ from the very player driven narrative of ICO, and if it would hold its own against similar novels as a standalone title.
ICO: Castle in the Mist was adapted from the Playstation 2 game ICO. It was written by Miyuki Miyabe and this version was translated by Alexander O. Smith.
I will note that I have only played and finished ICO for the first time one year ago. I do not have a lot of history invested in this game, so I haven’t read or watched a lot of secondary material like interviews or developer’s notes. My knowledge of ICO is not exhaustive, though I did love the game. So I don’t have the fervor some folks do, but I won’t be giving it a free pass either.
Faithfulness
The number one question for anyone who has played ICO is going to be ‘how faithful is this book to the source material?’ Now, it’s important to note the forward by the author in this novelization. She was given the developer’s blessing and a great berth of creative freedom and liberty on this project. As a result, this is as much her own story as it is ICO’s story. After all, this is a novelization and not a walkthrough or transcription of game events.
Recall that ICO is lauded for its minimalist approach to storytelling. It has key moments but most of the narrative is driven by the player’s actions. His or her interactions with the castle, feeling protective of Yorda, the sense of urgency when shadows start to spill out of the floor. Castle in the Mist is tasked instead with creating these relationships by building a rapport between character and reader and it does do it quite well.
The main difference here is that where a lot of ICO is left up to imagination or interpretation, Castle in the Mist is deeply entrenched in backstory. In fact, more than half of the book accounts for the backstories of both Ico and Yorda. These are well done, though they do seem to drag at times.
What you will get is some familiarity as they move throughout the castle, even though it’s truncated and the sequence has changed. There is also a lot of new material. What comes across as most interesting is how the author tries to explain the purposes of some of the machinery and some of the rooms found through the castle. How they were used, how they fell into ruin, what atrocities were committed there.
The Writing
ICO: Castle in the Mist is a light read. This book really didn’t need to be obtuse or convoluted, because ICO was neither obtuse or convoluted. It was a simple elegance with hidden complexities, so an approachable book was definitely the way to go here. It keeps it open not only to fans of the game but fans of this fantasy genre in general. And that can help with cross-pollination of media, get some more folks supporting Team Ico’s game efforts too. Well, that’s the hypothetical anyways.
The book gets very descriptive and adequately describes the scenes and the feelings of the characters. Most vivid are the descriptions of the characters straining or being injured. Those are the most evocative and do well to cast a sense of urgency.
The most awkward descriptions are some occasionally clumsy attempts at describing the castle in terms of the games. At time some of these descriptions feel redundant or even superfluous. While most of the big rooms have lavish descriptions, some of the smaller interstitials and things like levers sometimes have overly cumbersome descriptions. On the other hand, this may be a case of translation vs. original, but it is definitely a present albeit rare case in this novelization.
Obviously I can’t judge this completely in contrast to the original text but the translation seems fine. Except for a few quibbles that may or may not be present in the original, it is a readable book that still maintains its flow.
I won’t spoil the plot, but one worry I had is that this book chooses a fairly archetypical plot for its centre – especially when the Queen’s backstory starts to be revealed. It’s not that this plot archetype is bad by default, but it’s a dangerous prospect. ICO is very much in the personal realm. Three characters, one localized world. Castle in the Mist takes a minimalist and very centralized game and makes it more cosmic and global with countries, religions, and many more characters. That’s a lofty goal, but the author has accomplished it well enough. The world never becomes laborious, and is kept compelling enough.
This is important because where ICO was centralized on these three characters, Castle in the Mist gives them their due as well. There are a few more pivotal characters in this book but the most attention is definitely given to Ico, Yorda, and the Queen. So while we are introduced to a lot of new material, it’s these three characters who will ultimately stand out.
Final Thoughts
I went into ICO: Castle in the Mist with very little prior knowledge, just a handful of recommendations. I also put aside any expectations from the video game. And really, you can’t dwell on that if you hope to enjoy this book. There is no meticulous one-to-one recreation of the Castle. There are none of the many theories linking ICO to Shadow of the Colossus. It doesn’t even wholly follow the game’s standard sequence of events.
Perhaps it’s to the book’s advantage that ICO was as minimal as it was. It gives the story more wiggle room.
Castle in the Mist is a decent book that sustains its own mythos while still playing off of ICO. It’s not going to become one of favourites, but I do see myself revisiting it at some point in the future. Despite making some admittedly typical thematic choices it still presents a narrative and a centralization that is both of quality and uncommon nature.
It could have been bad fan fiction. Ico and Yorda rob the liquor store? Ico becomes a hedgehog and teams up with Sonic? No. It is one person’s interpretation of the story but it is still reverent and respectful. If you want a fantasy story that’s unique, or want to read a loose interpretation of a much loved game then give it a read.
Is there a novelization for SotC? Also, why go with the hideous North American box art for the cover? :p
Eh the boxart thing was a joke because it gets a lot of negative attention XD. Maybe I’ll o back to edit in a winky face or something.
I’m not sure if there’s a novelization for Shadow of the Colossus or not. It doesn’t look like there is, but there is a book called “Shadow of Colossus.” That’s about the real Colossus of Rhodes, one of the wonders of the old world however so I doubt it has to do with Wander, Mono, or the Dormin XD.
Maybe you could novelize SotC… or at least make a youtube song of it ;).
Ahhh… yeah, you should. It is really bad, though. Like, NES Mega Man boxart bad.
Haha! If I novelized SotC it’d probably get lewd involving the colossi, so possibly.
Well I don’t really think that Last Guardian is going to a seytsm seller; Team ICO games are beautiful, proufound, thoughtful things, but somehow, just not that appealing to the general market. Games like GTA and MGS are sellers, but sadly, this game isn’t in the same vein.I think, for me, what was most impactful was the subversion of the concept of ‘monster’. There is the traditional presentation of the creature (which…. looks like a baby goat with wings to me) as the ‘monster’: the eyes in the dark, the running of the boy cut with the shaky, chase-cam view, flinging men out of its way, the mysterious initial view of only the feet and nothing else.But the music, the view of the creature in full sunlight, the obvious friendship with the boy, quickly tear down this established point of view. The trailer then goes on to show the boy-and-his-giant-lamb-like-creature friendship, and all seems well….Until the 4th minute or so, when the music turns subtly sinister. The boy is shown running from the men, presumably military, but while they are shown trying to reach him, and once even picking him up, they are not actively fighting him.Which brings to question, how subversive could this game be? Being team ICO I have no doubt it’ll be exciting, thought-provoking, and aesthetically, incredible. The trailer projects such ambiguity in its storytelling, partially because of its presentation and partially because, well, it’s team ICO. It’s that inital terror which was then subverted into warmth, with an undertone of something sinister, that really gets me intrigued. There is so much potential for this game: as a platform for excellent storytelling, or as an open-ended presentation of a concept, allowing players to take away their own judgement and narrative.
Why did they lock him in a castle? It soduns, based solely on that, reminiscent of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas , but with a very, very different interpretation of the essential concept.Also, just the mention of it makes me want to see Attack the Block again.Goog sez: Nothing very interesting. Eliza needs more coffee.
I can’t really get into why ICO is locked in the castle. He’s a sacrifice in both the game and the novel. The game doesn’t really explain why he is really there, but there is a reason in the novel but it’s plot essential.
I haven’t heard of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas before, but this sounds interesting. I may give it a look in the future.