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Ico Spawns Japanese Novel

Posted by simoniker on from the dragged-down-book-store dept.

Thanks to Tokyopia for pointing out the Japanese debut of a novel based on cult PlayStation 2 title ICO, as created by "Japan noir" author Miyuki Miyabe. There's discussion of the book's contents over on GameFAQs, with a reader explaining the plot as involving "the village Ico comes from, their rituals and beliefs, and the birth of Ico... [and then includes] the game part... then an epilogue about what happens to the two [after the game]", and noting "It sounds like [Miyabe] asked for permission to write the novel", as opposed to vice versa. The discussion also warns the book shouldn't be confused with an Italian-language non-fiction analysis of ICO from Ben Mottershead, due out in September.

7 comments

  1. Oh, No? by FlipmodePlaya · · Score: 4, Informative

    The summary says: 'unfortunately, neither of these titles have confirmed English-language versions yet.'

    While the site for the Italian analytical book says: 'Italian releases only, English version of Ludologica coming soon. All the books are currently on sale at iBS.'

    Perhaps that isn't confirmation, but for those who want it in English, I think you'll get it.

    1. Re:Oh, No? by simoniker · · Score: 1

      Good point - I've removed that sentence from the summary, to avoid confusion.

    2. Re:Oh, No? by darniil · · Score: 1

      Something like this was inevitable, considering how those few people who loved the game also tended to want to know more about it. I guess this means I can stop writing my ICO fanfic, as, from the sounds of this article, my fanfic and this novel will be covering the same topics.

  2. About the Game by mv2s · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I guess something should be said about the game, since it didn't get a lot of press when it was released in 2001: it's a unique action/adventure title for PS2 that got great reviews (91% average), and was nominated for or won a bunch of awards, but didn't sell very well. It's still available, though getting harder to find.

  3. Penny Arcade by sjohnson · · Score: 5, Informative

    I believe Ico was also a favorite at Penny Arcade. They tend to have pretty good taste, IMO. Found three related comics in their archive:

    here
    here
    and here

    --
    "Only great masters of style can succeed in being obtuse. " --Oscar Wilde
  4. Buy it off E-bay by mekkab · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Such a great game. Its quick though- you could finish it in a day if you wanted to. But really, you should just savor the experience.

    --
    In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.