Ico

Story

Ico, a horned boy, is taken by a group of warriors to an abandoned castle and locked in a stone coffin to be sacrificed. An earthquake causes the coffin to collapse and Ico is able to escape. As he searches the castle, he comes across Yorda (ヨルダ Yoruda?), a captive girl who speaks another language. Ico helps Yorda escape and defends her from shadowy creatures. The two make their way through the castle and reach the bridge that leads to the land. As they cross it, the queen, the ruler of the castle, appears and tells Yorda that as her daughter, she must not leave the castle. The queen destroys part of the bridge; although Yorda tries to save him, Ico falls off the bridge and loses consciousness. Ico awakens under the castle and makes his way back to the upper floors, where he finds a magical sword that drives away the shadow creatures. He discovers that Yorda has been turned to stone by the queen. He confronts the queen in her throne room, who reveals to him that she wants to start her life over by taking possession of Yorda's body. Ico slays the queen with the magic sword, but with her death, the castle begins to collapse around him; he is hit by falling debris that breaks his horns, and he falls unconscious. The queen's spell on Yorda is broken, and a shadowy Yorda carries Ico safely out of the castle to a boat and sends him to shore alone. When Ico wakes up, the castle is in ruins and Yorda has washed up nearby in her human form. She stirs.