Hidden Symbolism in The Last Guardian

[@Ardit1996]

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!

[@maxderrat]

I never wanted to stop... I just needed to stop the pace I was going at. Thank you so much for sticking around to watch my man.

[@Badguy292]

@@maxderrat Of course, we love your content! Ahah, anything from analysis videos to lore and more. Your channel is quality and we appreciate it!

[@simtaur714]

@@maxderrat I agree with Ardit, great video man. Seeing you do good stuff on here is always appreciated.

[@onelovekaona]

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

[@Virtualblueart]

I just replayed it to the end yesterday (again) and I keep crying at the end every time I finish it. The 3 studio Ico games are works of art.

[@RevenantMain1]

@@Virtualbluearttried playing it again and got soft locked by Trico not doing what he’s meant to despite killing myself several times to show him where we’re meant to go 😂

[@proggz39]

@@RevenantMain1skill issue unfortunately :/ womp womp

[@DGFTardin]

I finished it today. I feel the same

[@Blank-wg6oi]

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.

[@_madism]

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.

[@FEARYOYOYO]

Besides the singer Sümer Ezgü and the late actor Sümer Tilmaç. Who are both men. So it’s a unisex name.

[@imitchell1]

Yeah I've heard Graham Hancock refer to sumar as a female also so yep definitely a female

[@_madism]

@@FEARYOYOYO Thanks for the clarification, I totally forgot

[@k4rec4]

Those charms are called 'Greek Eye' in my country. Strange, huh?

[@wayfarerzen]

@@k4rec4 What country, out of curiosity?

[@oleghrozman4172]

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.

[@praisekek181]

That's cool man

[@dankswag7860]

Arigato

[@jipowap]

They even have a yokai of eyes in their walls.

[@friktogurg9242]

Hi again. Maybe you can give a citation this time?

[@ZeranZeran]

I remember when I was in Kindergarten my teacher taught us to make "mini scarecrow" out of paper and Popsicle sticks. She showed us how birds are afraid of Owls, and taught us all to make giant Owl Faces to around the school garden. Mine looked like The Flatwoods monster, it was creepy haha. It worked too! Birds hate eyes watching them.

[@5Del]

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.

[@maxderrat]

Bless you, Steven. When I say that your comment means the world to mean, I sincerely mean it. Had a rough past 36 hours, and knowing that people like you have my back is definitely reassuring.

[@Aeneiden]

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

[@Tarmax94]

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.

[@karinlundgren5424]

You should totally play Shadow! I love that game. Played it through many times. It’s eerie and challenging, but less ambiguous than TLG. I will say I think I like TLG more, only because the bond the boy forms with Trico is so heartwarming, and the storyline is so good/mysterious.

[@notmephisto1375]

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.

[@timmadone8930]

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.

[@yellowbird9611]

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.

[@kakolicht]

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

[@maxderrat]

Funny that you mention that... I'm currently making my way through Bloodborne. SLOWLY... because the game is a pain in my ass... but I'm going through it. :)

[@kakolicht]

@@maxderrat , "your eyes are yet to be open"..... My favorite for this generation!

[@imitchell1]

@@maxderrat Max mate if that's true I suggest you check out a video called bloodborne myth it's a real eye opener

[@skhighglitch4217]

Max Derrat Lemme Guess, too much insight?

[@fiddledydoodle]

Bloodborne is my favourite game of all time

[@legolasdf1]

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.

[@sarahg7060]

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.

[@D.IronsWorld]

Great content Max as always. Kudos.

[@alcomando]

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.

[@jacobwright5542]

Always glad to see investigations into Ueda's games here on KZbin. 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)

[@maxmaidment96]

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.

[@dy8244]

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

[@golDroger88]

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

[@elijah02]

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

[@ChubbsRN]

It's possible it might run with less frame dips (assuming the ps5 and the game's engine behave together). Otherwise it's still gonna have the same clunky controls and wonky camera.

[@cmcm5878]

It'll be equivalent to playing the original shadow of the colossus on the PS3, it's just backwards compatible, not a PS5 enhanced game and it won't have any improvements with the new power, but it could possibly have faster load times. It is PS4 Pro enhanced though.

[@SotNist]

There was two modes on PS4 Pro and neither were ideal, but it would be nice if the resolution mode could end up running at 60 fps via an uncapped framerate and yield the best of both worlds. The game deserves at least that.

[@icantread1058]

it runs at 60fps

[@SotNist]

@@icantread1058 I tried it yesterday and it seemed like 30 fps to me, but steady at least and it is the "resolution" mode. The HDR tonemaps much better on PS5 too imo. Not so washed out and muted.

[@chrisgilliver1]

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

[@karinlundgren5424]

Agreed!

[@proggz39]

No need to choose favorites, they’re all great and timeless in their own ways

[@AirTails]

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.

[@oleghrozman4172]

I love your videos. You are the best.

[@maxderrat]

You're the bestEST!

[@rodrigopupo1629]

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

[@joebailey8294]

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.

[@omarfarooq7211]

I also feel that saying it's miles better does a disservice to Ueda's other games as if to imply they are lesser in artistic value, that being said Shadow of the Colossus is in my opinion truly a masterpiece in every respect from the gameplay to the atmosphere, the world design, the Art direction, the colossi themselves and of course that powerful haunting ending. Although I don't know if calling it an easy sell is entirely accurate as ppl usually get turned off by the idea of a completely empty world. The last Guardian is easier to explain as a puzzle platformer about a boy and his dog friend. Regardless, I think Fumito Ueda's games are like no other and I cant wait to learn more about his upcoming game

[@DarksteelHeart]

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.

[@mattmanga12]

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

[@kevinaudrey4731]

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

[@defaultaccount6278]

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.

[@magnamic5614]

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.

[@UchihaItachi1986]

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

[@jafoste91]

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

[@jerm5466]

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.

[@JoeNeutrino]

Comments are good for the KZbin algorithm

[@roypone6158]

yes

[@GSRieza]

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)

[@FirstPrize483]

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

[@Dominickun24]

Holy crud! It's so good to see another video! Thanks Max, these videos are always a wonderful bit of pondering. This was a great one.

[@andyisnothere95]

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

[@IamLink64]

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

[@MrFabutan]

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.

[@KEWLAID81]

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.

[@sadtoast6122]

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

[@alexradice8163]

Every game is art

[@nicolasirci6585]

That Anzu artwork by Kazuma Kaneko 10/10 ❤️

[@hosseinshaygani6415]

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).

[@sselimkahverengi]

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.

[@retrogamernat8701]

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.

[@Lord_Of_Beans]

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

[@Apfelsaftkirsche]

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

[@ibleminen]

Unfortunately Team ico is no longer, but fumito ueda (the director) now is the leader of gen design with some of the veteran staff from team ico. The good news is gen design is currently developing a game for epic games.

[@Apfelsaftkirsche]

@@ibleminen Really? Its sad that the original team is no longer but im happy about that they develope a new game :)

[@samueltorres2607]

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

[@maxderrat]

You are amazingER. :D Peace, man!

[@nillsknillz]

wow very good find and nice vid, ty mate!

[@radiantstar3244]

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...

[@Opre010]

Interesting. What exactly is this ball?

[@Yoxiv]

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.

[@christophervelez1561]

Dude I love these analysis!

[@madnessfury777]

Lamassu are Aliens coming from the Sky

[@feliphevinicius3355]

Great video man, keep up the good work

[@vr5076]

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.

[@BaconSniffer578]

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

[@SammySaidSo]

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

[@Novasky2007]

In symbolism the negative spaces are often equally imbued with hidden meaning. 10:44 the obvious symbol is the eye the less obvious is the three Grails.

[@krysc96]

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

[@dextiir]

i LOVE this guy. He has so much good info. I havent yet played the game. Now I will.

[@TehJellyLord]

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

[@maxderrat]

Nice! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

[@SteveOnTheEastCoast]

I hit the LIKE button twice (then again) for good measure, Max 🤙🏾

[@maxderrat]

[@oscarcamey8]

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?

[@CrimsonRayne]

I could listen about this forever

[@ramyedits948]

Great video

[@Virtualblueart]

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

[@jacksypher3403]

8:45 what you should take into consideration is that the collective unconcious has similarities everywhere in different cultures. Like archetypes for gods. Since the tower of Babel was destroyed and split our languages we still unconciously replicate what other people think and do. Like the 100 monkey theory. If enough humans start doing something new and efficient such as agriculture or fishing then the rest of the species will pick up on this knowledge without the need of explaning to eachother

[@octosalias5785]

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)

[@octosalias5785]

Incidentally, just for fun because its my favorite bit of myth in archeology, the carving shown here looks like Tiamat vs Marduk, later adapted to Zeus battle with Typhon as Zeus' temple was built on top of Marduk's.

[@ham-mantheman-ham634]

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

[@maxderrat]

I didn't quit KZbin though. :P I never said I did or I would.

[@zygot3060]

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".

[@dumaramutsi]

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

[@matthelion]

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

[@trinidaitobago2]

Great april first video.

[@Frederic_S]

Thank you for sharing. Stay yellow two, Max :)

[@maxderrat]

Always, my friend.

[@WillderBeing]

Underrated game. Great vid! :)

[@ashtonjackfanny]

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

[@XxDeViLBrInGeRxX]

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.

[@ahmed4397]

Great content 👍

[@dankswag7860]

Love you Max

[@SebtorDude]

I would love to see Max‘s takes on jungian Archetypes and hidden symbolism in Mike Judge‘s „King of the Hill“ 😉

[@SebtorDude]

Just joking, but one animated series that lends itself well to a deep analysis is probably Attack on Titan

[@Noodlemonkey7]

Ico NEEDS to be remastered!

[@darlingrichardjames9362]

Continuing the lords work, Max

[@TheMechanic626]

Great video 👍

[@FEARYOYOYO]

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

[@netocock]

Nice one, Max ;D

[@maxderrat]

Thanks homie. :D I dig your avatar picture by the way.

[@cloudbloom]

Legitimately I wonder if this Adrian person came to these conclusions after watching the show Ancient Aliens because all of the same stuff she mentioned is talked about in some episodes and they even show the statues and art work you showed here🤔

[@LegendStormcrow]

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.

[@cloudbloom]

Trico is so cute😭

[@evanbelisle8464]

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

[@darksg1295]

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

[@viola308]

ive seen it, is it good

[@roypone6158]

nice vid 👍

[@mercenarygundam1487]

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

[@josuearriaza3952]

I think its shadows of the colossus first ICO second and then the last guardian. The master of the valley has the same kinda power the queen does in ico when she showes up like an orb. There's more I like to say but I make it to long to read.

[@DredCthulhu]

I guess I’m used to abusive relationships, there at the end when he did “and everyone else” I thought he was going to tell me to be better, more like whoever inspired him

[@user-vq2ho5jn7k]

Boo hoo no one asked

[@icantread1058]

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

[@ghostsinthegraveyard5766]

Innana and lilith are the same creature, different face.

[@blinkspacestudio8892]

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.

[@topazblahblah]

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.