Ico: The Story of an Overshadowed Relic

Let me tell you of Ico, a hero in his own right. Yet, among video game giants such as Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and the Master Chief, it is easy to overlook such a small man with a small title role. But every hero deserves for his story to be told, and so, listen to what it must be like to be Ico.

Walking down the halls of VG High can be a tough place for someone who hasn’t had a monsoon of sequels in their name, or sold millions of copies of their game. Mario opens his locker only to find mushrooms in the shape of a heart from every girl in the school. Smoke drifts out of the bathroom where Solid Snake, the rebel that he is, and Sam Fisher share a couple of between-class cigarettes. A hall monitor enters the bathroom to investigate only to find nothing. Outside of a classroom, Mega Man is flirting with Samus Aran, trying to secure a date for the Robot Ball that Dr.Light is throwing. But, out of the spotlight down at the far end of the hall, where the light flickers and the lockers are made of rust, is a lonely boy with horns trying to retrieve his supplies from his locker. He leans in to search, bangs a horn on the side, and falls back, briefly stunned for a minute but not surprised.

Life for Ico was never easy. When he was a young lad, he was put into a stone sarcophagus. You know, because of the curse of his horns and the horrible demon plague he would release on his village. After he escaped, he saved some dumb girl who was practically worthless and now he finds himself at school, where he is picked last for dodge ball, gets booed when he goes to head the ball in soccer only to pierce it with his horns, and placed in the corner for speaking gibberish in class. Ico picks himself off up the floor, looks left and right for shadow monsters, then walks swiftly to his confidence-building class.

When he enters, he takes a seat next to Poo, a kung fu master and second fiddle to Ness. Professor Luigi clears his throat and begins scribbling on the blackboard. Ico spots a note being passed across the room and is surprised to see it stop at his desk with his name on it. He opens it and blushes. It reads, “I like your horns. Do you like my fangs?” It was from Rayne (you know, that half-vampire chick from BloodRayne). Still blushing, he looked up to the board to see his assignment. The prompt: “Write an essay about why you should be absorbing the spotlight.” Ico put the pen to the paper and wrote his heart out:

“I belong in the spotlight and to receive some mainstream attention because being quirky is ‘in.’ I mean, look at my horns. No one has horns like me except for Bowser and he is getting really old. I also don’t take crap from anyone and have my wits about me. You think you can defend a princess from shadow monsters armed with only a stick? Anyone may be able to swing a stick, but how about use their mind? I have solved more puzzles than anyone famous ever has. When was the last time Captain Falcon or Cloud had to use their brain?

“As far as princesses go, I didn’t just rescue mine–I carried her through an entire castle while defending her from shadow creatures. I held her hand, pulled her up over walls, and caught her when she leapt across chasms. I would love to see anyone else with that much dedication to their girl.

“Bottom line: I deserve shoe deals, hat deals, commercials, and a reprinting of my game along with four more sequels.”

Ico finished with a sigh and as he went to turn in his essay to the sleeping Luigi, heard a yell. It was the princess, and there was a shadow monster. He grabbed a stick and ran off to defend her as usual, hoping that one day people would take notice of him.