The Armored Tricos are secondary antagonists in the The Last Guardian, posing a formidable threat to both Trico and The Boy as they navigate the Nest.
The same species as Trico, these beasts are armored, skilled, hostile, and menacing. They are just as dangerous as Trico itself, if not more so, courtesy of their armor and charmed state.
History[]
The first can be seen jumping above Trico and the Boy as Trico bathes in the second pool of water after progressing past the first antenna room. The next encounter comes later and is more noticeable as it can be heard roaring in the distance. After progessing further, but still in the same area, an Armored Trico appears, roars, and knocks the two off the cliff, sending them crashing into a building below.
After Trico and the Boy are separated in the underwater caverns, the Boy walks right into a resting Armored Trico (the same one as before), who wakes up and begins to relentlessly chase him until the Boy gets stuck in a metal cage. After attempting to get to the Boy for a while, a note resounds and calls the Armored Trico away, leaving the Boy stuck in the cage.
Later on, the beast is encountered yet again when it ambushes Trico and the Boy. Jumping down, it ignores Trico at first as it seems its main mission is to take the human boy. However, after it turns its back on Trico, the loyal creature strikes from behind, and the two grapple. For all its bravery, Trico is quickly overturned and starts being choked by its adversary. However, the Boy intervenes and drives the beast away. The fight ends with the Armored Trico's helmet and horns being broken (the wings aren't fully developed and were not damaged from the encounter).[1]
Once the two reach the top of the Sentinel Tower at the end, the Master of the Valley, who controls the creatures and once controlled Trico itself, summons a large pack of the beasts to the tower. Some of them deposit children they have kidnapped to the Master for a reward of a barrel. While not initially hostile to Trico, one of the armored beasts attacks the Boy, prompting Trico to defend him. Holding its ground, Trico is savagely overwhelmed by the seven beasts on the tower, one of whom even tears off the end of Trico's tail. When the Master is destroyed, its control over the beasts is released, and the creatures become completely disoriented, falling from the sky and off the tower. When Trico flies away with the Boy, it looks down to see the Armored Trico whose horns broke earlier has survived, although with the damage it sustained from the earlier fight.
Personality[]
While it is assumed an uncontrolled Armored Trico could bond with a human, these animals have no will of their own, being slaves to the Master of the Valley. They are bold and skilled, even one of them able to swiftly defeat Trico and be a serious threat to the Boy.
However, they are not openly hostile to each other. When the Armored Trico ambushes the pair, it ignores Trico until attacked. Later, when the large flock of Armored Tricos land on the Sentinel Tower, they seem to not mind Trico until it attacks one of them in defense of the Boy.
Powers and abilities[]
- Chimeran physiology: Armored Tricos can best be described as chimeras, creatures composed of several different animals. They have the face of a dog, the ears, body, and tail of a cat, and the beak, wings, feathers, and feet of a bird. They also sport a pair of horns on their heads belonging to an unknown species. This gives the beasts the abilities of all the species they embody: the strength of a dog, the agility of a cat, and the flight of a bird.
- Enhanced strength: Because of their massive size, Armored Tricos are incredibly strong. They can smash groups of enemies with relative ease. They are also quite effective against the unarmored Trico.
- Enhanced agility: Despite being covered in armor plating, Armored Tricos can climb and leap great distances that would be impossible for any other animal. This is embodied by their cat-like traits.
- Flight: Given their purpose to forage for people to steal, Armored Tricos can fly great distance for prey.
- Enhanced durability and healing: Armored Tricos can take giant amounts of damage; even serious wounds can be shrugged off in a short amount of time. Armored Tricos also seem to heal very fast, as the beasts do not bleed very much and can quickly get up from even life-threatening wounds like falling from the sky.
- Body armor: Covered in thick armor plates, these beasts are not very affected by spears and arrows, making them very formidable and able to take on anything that poses a threat.
- Prehensile tail: Armored Tricos' tails act as an extra limb.
- Eyeshine: The color of an Armored Trico's eyes change depending on their mood, but as they are always hostile, their color is constantly pink.
- Electric tail: While not seen in-game, it is possible that an Armored Trico can shoot lightning from their tails in a similar fashion to Trico.
Weaknesses[]
- Loss of leadership: Upon the killing of their master, the beasts become so disoriented that they fall from the sky as well as towers and lose their footing.
- Talismans: While the effects of the talismans are never seen on the Tricos bearing armor, given that they are planted all over the Nest at key points, they likely work to keep the beasts out in the case of a rebellion.
- Other Armored Tricos: Armored Tricos have been observed to posture over food and likely pose a serious threat against each other.
- Small spaces: While even Trico stands no chance against them, the Boy is able to escape the beasts by hiding in small spaces where the creature can't reach or fit its body.
The game | ICO ( Demo · Revisions from U.S. version · Ico HD ) | |
Characters | Ico · Yorda · The Queen · Shadows · Shinkan | |
The Castle | Idol Gates · Yorda's language · Saving Benches Altar • Warehouse • Spiral Stairs • Old Bridge • Stairs • Trolley 1 • Trolley 2 • Crane • Chandelier • Drawbridge • Main Gate • Graveyard • Dark Room • Sunbeams • Stone Pillar • East Crag • East Arena • East Idol Stairs • East Reflector • Waterfall • Sluice • Cogwheel • Gondola • Water Tower • West Crag • West Arena • West Idol Stairs • West Reflector • Cage • Pipe • Elevator • Wharf • Queen's Room • Sandy Beach | |
Other Media | Ico ~Melody in the Mist~ · Official Game Guide · Ico: Castle in the Mist |
Characters | Armored Knights · The Boy · Trico · Master of the Valley · Armored Tricos | |
Locations | The World · The Citadel | |
Soundtrack | Original Soundtrack | |
Objects | The Mirror · Talismans · Barrels · Unlockable Items |
Characters | The Boy · Trico · Armored Tricos · Soldiers (Yoroi) · Master of the Valley |
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Locations | The World · Sentinel Tower |
Items | The Mirror · Talismans · Barrels · Unlockable Items |
Gameplay | Easter Egg |
Media | The Last Guardian (OST) · Official Art and Guide Book · Interview Archive |
Releases | PS3 development · PS4 final release · Credits |