The Last Guardian: Why this video game's developer kept fans waiting for nearly a decade

Few videogames have suffered a development cycle as long and tortured as the one for The Last Guardian.

The third title by acclaimed Japanese game director Fumito Ueda is out today — after keeping fans on tenterhooks for nearly a decade.

Ueda earned a reputation as a videogame auteur with his previous titles, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and whispers back in 2007 of a new Ueda game had the industry buzzing with anticipation.

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus were poignant tales of companionship in the face of ominous danger, and The Last Guardian appeared to augur more of the same.

Early trailers promised a story about a young boy lost in an ancient ruined city who wakes up next to Trico, a giant feathered creature who looks like a cross between a bird, cat and dog.

The first trailers came out out in 2007. They featured a dreamy atmosphere and hinted at a budding friendship between a boy and a beast. It seemed reminiscent of the work of Studio Ghibli, the people behind such films as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro.

Fans' hype levels were off the charts. They waited with growing anticipation.

And waited.

And waited.

The long wait

For years, industry watchers and fans heard and saw next to nothing about the game. The planned 2011 release date came and went without fanfare.

Sony executives gave conflicting reports about development being active, or on hiatus. Many were convinced Sony had cancelled the project entirely.

Then, at a press conference at E3 in 2015, Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden dropped a bombshell: The Last Guardian was coming to the PlayStation 4 in 2016.

You might not expect gamers and tech fans to erupt with cheers and hollers for something described as "a poetic story of adventure and friendship" — but it happened.

Equally surprising was that the trailer Sony unveiled looked remarkably similar in tone and substance to the one it released six years earlier.

If it looked fundamentally the same as it did in 2007, then why the wait?

"Never in my wildest imagination did I think The Last Guardian would take this long," Ueda told Eurogamer.

But he remains cagey about why it did.

"There was a lot of learning," he told The Guardian. "In life, there are always things that mesh well, and things that don't. In various ways that applies to what we've done in the last few years."

What we do know is Ueda originally intended it to be a shorter project than his previous works.

But multiple technical hurdles impeded progress. For example, the complex, animal-like artificial intelligence of Trico was difficult to implement with the current PlayStation 3 hardware.

Ueda left full-time employment at Sony in 2011 to form his own studio, GenDesign. The team would continue to work on the game, which had now transitioned onto the more powerful PlayStation 4.

The boy and the beast

It's probably impossible to meet the expectations of millions of fans who have been waiting years to get their hands on The Last Guardian. But they should be able to rest easy.

The game measures up as a spiritual sequel to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, telling its affecting tale through action and interaction in ways only a videogame can.

It starts off in simple fashion. Taking control of the boy, you climb along ledges, push crates and pull ledges to make your way through the city.

Trico isn't your usual video game companion. Unlike Link's trusty and obedient horse, Epona, in The Legend of Zelda games, Trico won't always follow your commands, and will sometimes do the exact opposite of what you ask.

Much of your time is spent coaxing the giant creature to play along, gently pointing in the direction you want to go as Trico figures out what to do next.

The boy and the beast slowly learn to build their trust in each other, working together to survive the dangers lurking in the ruins and hopefully escape their predicament. The end result is a fascinating partnership. You might feel like Daenerys in Game of Thrones, as she slowly trains her pet dragons to become companions rather than unpredictable monsters.

This will surely frustrate players who want to solve puzzles as quickly and efficiently as possible. But Trico moves and acts like a living, breathing creature – at times intelligent and affectionate, but also fickle and independent.

Along the journey, you have to ward off sentient statues intent on grabbing the boy and taking him away for unknown purposes, and these battles produce some of the game's most emotional moments. After smashing the statues to bits, Trico roars and trembles with uncontrolled rage, forcing the boy to pet its head and calm its nerves before moving forward.

Thanks to an astounding level of detail and animation lavished on both Trico and the boy, these two might be the best-realized duo in videogames in recent memory. Give The Last Guardian the time it deserves, and you'll grow to care about them as much as they care about each other.

Frustrating camera, obtuse puzzle design

But enjoying The Last Guardian does come with caveats. Clunky camera controls obfuscate the scenery, and the frame rate fluctuates from smooth to choppy far too frequently on the PS4.

As well, a handful of puzzles feel more obtuse than they need to be. Some areas of the environment will telegraph which corner to examine, or what ledge to climb, more than others.

In a game that is essentially a series of brain teasers, some players might find any one obstacle completely perplexing, while others breeze through without a hitch.

But anyone willing to work through these annoyances will find a rare game filled with genuine emotion and heart — and an ending that should satisfy fans while also leaving much to discuss and debate.