Why The Last Guardian Makes Us Feel

There I sat, gripping my Playstation 4 controller fearing that the Last Guardian’s final cut scene might result in an emotional breakdown. It didn’t, though. What the game did was fill me with emotions that I haven’t felt since Red XIII roared over a moss-covered Midgar. A video game made me cry from joy.

The Last Guardian isn’t perfect. Not by a long stretch. It suffers from performance issues, clunky controls and a frustrating camera. These problems, though, don’t take away from what the game does best—create a bond between player and a 15-foot dog-bird-cat creature named Trico.

In my 20-plus years of gaming I can only think of two games that had the Last Guardian’s emotional impact; Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy VII. Aeris‘ death in FF7 is widely considered one of the most emotional moments in gaming history, and Ocarina’s story of growth and bravery still resonates today.

But even those games didn’t cause me to put down the controller and act on my emotions. Each time Trico wined when an impassable wall separated him from the Boy, or whenever I had to sooth him after battle, I would put down the controller and love and pet each one of my dogs.

A Boy and his Last Guardian

The idea that a 29-year-old man can form a bond with a fantasy creature seems ludicrous, but each review of the Last Guardian that I’ve read says the same thing; the game excels in creating a sense of kinship between player and digital beast.

Fumito Ueda‘s tactics used to cause strong player emotions and are nothing short of brilliant. The visual language and without-words storytelling techniques used in the Last Guardian certainly draw from games like Ocarina of Time and even Dark Souls, but the game manages to do more than just tell an engaging story. It creates a truly believable character that the player feels for and honestly cares about.

The emotional bond between the player and Trico is unlike any other in gaming.

Anyone who has raised a puppy will tell you that it is a vehemently frustrating, yet loving and rewarding experience. It is the beautiful type of chaos that can only be shared between man and beast. Unless you’re playing the Last Guardian—in which case it’s shared between player and NPC.

Issuing commands to Trico is simple, but finding the patience to allow him to carry them out is a different story. He doesn’t always listen, gets stuck or confused and sometimes ignores your commands all together.

But much like teaching a dog not to shit in the house, Trico eventually figures out what I want. When he finally gets the picture it’s impossible not to give him a scratch behind the ear or toss him a delicious barrel.

Frustrating times with Trico ultimately end up feeling rewarding once the creature follows a command. Overcoming these moments of misunderstanding strengthened my emotional connection with Trico and made me like him even more.

Bonding through experiences

Throughout the game the Boy and Trico share some close calls. There are moments when the boy is falling to certain death only to be caught by Trico at the very last moment. Minutes later, Trico will find himself in peril and the Boy must act as the savior.

Every time the pair shared a near fatal end I found myself loving or rewarding Trico with pets and affection, even when they weren’t required. Yes, Trico often requires petting after a battle to sooth him and sometimes refuses to move forward unless fed, but I found real enjoyment in giving him affection and treats “just because”.

Trio is often positioned as the savior of his young companion, and vice-versa.

I did this because I had a genuine emotional connection with Trico and felt feelings towards the make-believe creature like how I feel about my own pets.

No movie, TV show or book has ever caused me to feel such a deep connection with a character before, which caused me to wonder—how does the Last Guardian pull it off?

What games do best

I thought to myself, what makes games different than other forms of storytelling? The Last Guardian very well could have been adapted as an animated movie or book, but I wouldn’t have developed the same connection with Trico if it had. There is one key thing missing from each of those mediums that the Last Guardian accomplishes to perfectly.

Interaction.

The petting, feeding, riding, saving and exploring together is what made my time with Trico so memorable. Feeling like the Boy and Trico were bonding though interactions that I was controlling caused an emotional response that only video games can accomplish.

Looking back on my time with the game my most enjoyable experience wasn’t the puzzles, exploration or even story. I loved the game because of Trico.

I can look past the bad performance, controls and camera—which would normally cause me to walk away from a game—because I found a friend in a 15-foot-tall-dog-bird-cat thing.