wfmag.cc \ 23Agro Shadow of the Colossus 2005
Fumito Ueda’s PS2 classic presents the player with a sparsely populated world, bereft of
much in the way of... anything. It’s in this sense of isolation that Agro, your trustworthy steed,
comes into her own – she’s not just a transport tool; she’s your companion. It also helps that
some of the game’s finest battles require her direct involvement to render any success at all –
sprinting alongside the snake-like 13th colossus and leaping from horse to giant is a moment
none who’ve played the game will forget. Just as none will forget the sacrifice she makes to
save your life at the game’s end. It’s OK, dry your eyes, it’s just a sprain.Wolfdog Shadow Dancer 1989
No ninja would ever ask for help in fighting dangerous terrorist
organisations – we’ve all seen too many films to know this as fact.
A ninja would, however, bring along his wolfdog to maul gun-toting
terrorists if Shadow Dancer is to be treated as a truthful historical
document. Which it should be. Far from a cheat companion, your
ninja-dog – called in to attack enemies and allow you a free shot
in the Shinobi sequel – could actually end up hurt and neutralised
if you weren’t quick enough on the shuriken-draw. It’s bizarre how a
game from the late 1980s could offer such a strong attachment to
an in-game animal, simply by imbuing it with a level of vulnerability.
Dog Half-Life 2 2004
OK, this is one dog too many. No more dogs. He’s
not even an animal; he’s a robot. A wonderful,
caring, friendly, helpful robot with plenty of
dog-like characteristics, sure. But still a robot.
One dog too many.Chocobos
Final Fantasy II–on 1988–on
Where Yoshi had plenty of other
appearances, highlighting his
plentiful skills, Final Fantasy’s
chocobos have largely only ever
been used as transport tools. OK,
there was some dungeon exploring, and
even a bit of kart racing, but the vast majority
of the time these kweh-ing giga-chickens have
been used as horse proxies. So why the love? Well,
they’re just adorable, aren’t they? Useful, obviously- and we shouldn’t overlook that – but the chocobo dance from
Final Fantasy VII is something forever in our hearts. They are
arguably a bit more angular – and, frankly, terrifying in FFXV – but
it doesn’t dilute the love we have any.
Wireframe’s favourite animalsInterface
Pomeranian Tokyo Jungle 2012
SIE Japan Studio’s peculiar animal-focused survival title has largely been lost in the ether over
the years, but we will never forget it – in a big part because of that Pomeranian. One of the
game’s two opening options to control, the newly ownerless toy pooch needs a lot of care,
isn’t capable of anything special, and proves a challenge for all but the best players when it
comes to actually making progress. So really, it’s a lot like an actual Pomeranian would be in
a real-world anarchic wildland of humanless Tokyo. And that, dear readers, makes for quite
the unembellished underdog story.Cuccos
The Legend of Zelda series 1992–on
Those chickens you see all over the Zelda games
are, in fact, cuccos – and they’re something we
love. If this sounds a bit stilted and as though it’s
written under duress, please believe that couldn’t
be further from the truth. We love and respect the
cuccos, and are in no way terrified of or threatened
by them. We certainly don’t wake up in cold sweats
after suffering repeated night terrors focusing on
the definitely-not-chicken terrors. No siree, not us.
We just love cuccos, and in no way is this a result of
wondering what would happen if we were to smack
a few of them around with our sword. Nope, they’re
great. Not terrifying at all.