Intro
WARNING: PLEASE EXPERINCE THIS GAME THROUGH TO THE END CREDITS BEFORE READING OR SCROLLING THROUGH THIS GUIDE! Unmarked Spoilers, both in text and picture formats, will appear thoughout the guide.
As a warning to anyone whom may run across this guide by accident, including curious persons on my friends list, I beg of you, PLEASE close this page now. Ori and the Blind Forest is a special experience and deserves to your first playthru to be as spoiler-free as possible.
[Last update: June 8, 2016: Edits to reflect the end of this guide and announce the plans for two new guides on the DE page, hopefulyl this month.
Welcome to the Lore guide for Ori and the Blind Forest. In this guide, we will be exploring some of the Lore, background information, and other subtle details that went into crafting forest of Nibel. I also plan to cover some other elements of the game and try to answer a few common "plot hole" accusations.
I've noticed many Let's Players often question what's happening or making statements that are clearly factually wrong. Especially during the prologue and still fairly notable through the first 12% of map completion. Sometimes this is because the presentation of the info is subtle; other times since the proper knowledge base to understand it's signifcance isn't given until later.
The developers of the game have stated that several aspects of the game are INTENTIONALLY LEFT OPEN TO PERSONAL INTERPRETATION. Even though the Definitive Edition will cover more lore, they stated they don't want to ruin people's interpretations with it. As such, just because I have it listed here, does not mean that it's irrefutable. You are free to see things in another light. But hopefully I can at least inspire you to notice and form your own theories.
The AND MORE in the guide name refers to the "bonus" sections after the main conclusion. The first is an analysis of several design choices and mechanics present in the prologue. The rest are largely based off the Reddit AMA from early 2015 covering topics I found interesting, even if it isn't directly applicable to the lore.
This my first Steam guide. So my apologies if layout, spelling, accreditation to sources, or anything else still needs work. This guide is subject to expansion and I might add or update sections if we find anything worth noting. Plus the guide will likely also need to get re-updated after I get some time to go through the Definitve Edition due later this year.
Change Log
June 8, 2016 Sorry about lack of updates. Decided to make the guide into TWO guides and move it to the DE page. This change will also make it easier to discern the difference betweem speculation from confirmed details once implemented.
March 11, 2016 It seems PC release of Definitive Edition has been delayed. As I do not wish to spoil myself concerning the DE, updates will be on hiatus, despite the release of the X1 version. Please respect my decision and do NOT send me spoilers at this time. Thank you in advance for your co-operation and patience.
Jan 24, 2016 Minor fixes. Most notable being fixing the Ginso fall issue and the temporary reversal of left/right (east/west).
DE got delayed until Spring.
Add a temporary section near the end to prepare for DE.
Nov 11, 2015 Added a LINKS section
Added some info to Alt. Theories and Main Cast, mostly concerning Naru and Kuro. Mostly based upon the podcast linked in the LINKS section.
Added a basic cursory glance of both sides of the debate on one of the alt. theories.
Minor corrections and trimmings of excess words.
Oct 7, 2015 Added one part to Plot Holes (How did Ori survive the fall from Ginso) and one to Alt. Theories (aknowledging the uncertaintity of Ori's fate in the ending).
Also re-sorted Plot Holes to put all the holes in approximate chronogical order.
Sept 20, 2015 (Minor changes)
Minor grammar and brevity edits. Also corrected the update times in intro.
Sept 13, 2015ADDED a Misc. section for one-off stuff that doesn't fit the main sections.
Added a "Presumably long before the Prologue" scetion to Basic Story.
September 7-8, 2015 (Minor changes)
ADDED a "Change Log" section
Minor Changes to Basic Timeline for grammar, symbol guide, and reducing the fruit/berry inconsistency. But nothing that tangibly alters any information itself.
Minor changes to (alleged) Plot Holes section similar to that found in Basic Timeline.
September 3, 2015First public version of the guide is posted to Steam.
Basic Story/Timeline
This section covers events that occured prior to the main part of the game. Basically it combines the prolougue with the simultaneous off-camera events which aren't referred to until later.
Some call prologue food fruit, others berries. I'll just use fruit for simplicity and consistency.
* = important to explaining an alleged plot hole later
# = Could also have happened at a time period BEFORE the one it's listed in.
0] UNSPECIFIED TIME BEFORE STARTING NEW GAMEThe Spirit Gates (the doors requiring Keystones) were made as a form of protection against the dangerous threats of Nibel, which existed from before the begin of the Decay.
1]AT START OF NEW SAVE FILEAt the start of the prologue, the Great Storm sweeps Ori away from the Spirit Tree, and Ori is adopted by Naru.
2]"SHORT" UNSPECIFIED TIME LATER (days? weeks? months?)Naru and Ori's fruit hunting adventure occurs and, then the Light Ceremony begins.
Judging by Kuro's surprise during the flashback following Forlorn Ruins, this Light Ceremony was performed under conditions (most likely a different time) that it typically would be.
During the Light Ceremony, three of Kuro's children die.
Naru grabs Ori and runs in their cave. BUT dwindling food sequence occurs later.
3]AFTER THE LIGHT CEREMONYKuro rampages against the Light Spirits and Spirit Tree, ending with the theft of Sein, which begins Nibel's slow descent into decay.
4] MANY YEARS PASS ("Many Years" per Fil's Ancestral Tree)Without Sein to help the spirit Tree regulate the balance of nature, the forest of Nibel decays.
# Gumo leaves Forlorn Ruins, not knowing his race's eventual fate.
Forlorn Ruins becomes a grave for the Gumon, Ginso Tree becomes unable to cleanse the waters, and Mount Horu no longer gives warmth to the forest.
# Certain deceased Light Spirits became Ancestral Trees (how and why is up to interpretation).
As a result of the years-long decay, Ori and Naru's dwindling food sequence.
* After looking for fruit during NOT NIGHT, Naru gives the last one to Ori.
5]UNSPECIFIED TIME LATER (hours, possibly days)* Ori gets fruit from the AT NIGHT.
* A Gumon, most likely Gumo, observes Ori returning with the fruit.
Ori returns with the fruit.
Shortly after (few minutes? hours? days?), the final segment of the prologue begins.
Main Cast
For the name origins of Ori, Naru, Sein, and Kuro, please refer to the section "Reddit: Name Origins" towards the end of the guide.
OriOri is the main character of the game. Despite Ori's gender being officially left as intentionally ambigious, other Light Spirits are specifically referred to by gender ingame. Also, Microsoft's (the publisher and IP owner) promotional materials referred to Ori as male, but the game's German translation refered to "the orphan" (meaning Ori) as female. Though the latter might simply be a quirk of most nouns having genders in German. Dev team's usage of pronouns to refer to Ori in interviews, etc seem to vary based on which individual is talking.
Some say the line of "We told Ori of her misguided will" is proof that Ori is female, but the word "her" in that line actually refers to Kuro.
In addition, during the main game, Ori appears to be much smaller than the few glimpses we get of grown Light Spirits. Whether this is due to Ori's younger age (even after the time lapse during the prologue) or being raised by Naru and eating berries while living away from the light of the Spirit Tree is unknown. Ori's species as a whole will be covered in more detail in the "Ancestral Trees" and especially the second main segment of the "About the Light."
Naru
Naru appears to have had a child prior to finding Ori. The evidence is the smaller black figure with ears that looks like the bigger black creature with ears shown on the rock which Ori sleeps. The child is never directly mentioned in the game, and there is no indication of if the child left or if the child died. Naru's previous experience as a mother may have influenced her decision to take in Ori.
In addition, during the time laspe of the prologue, the black figures (Naru and presumably child) fade much more noticeably than Ori, although I'm not sure if that's because black fades faster or because the black figures were drawn before Ori. Below are some pictures showing the fading.
Most likely, Naru taking Ori into the cave this was done with the intent to protect Ori from what she thought was a dangerous situation, unaware that Ori is immune to the light. Director has been vague concernign whether Naru actually knew of the Light Cermony or not.
START SPECULATION
The retreat makes sense if Naru already lost a child to light. It would also fit her sad expression upon entering the cave (remembering her last child) and a recurring story element whereupon acts of love for family, while perhaps justified on a micro scale, result in terrible tragedies in the big picture.
My interpretation, which is by no means the only option, is that the child most likely passed away. Possibly from a previous Light Ceremony, based on Naru's reaction to the Light Ceremony. Specifically due to rushing Ori in the cave and the brief sad/worried face before the time lapse begins.
Another possible interpretation is covered in ALTERNATE THEORIES. However, developer comments about Naru's voice acting suggests that the Alt. Theory is too complex. Also the first draft of the game's story had a similar idea that would have made Naru as the original antagonist, but that was before Kuro existed.
END SPECULATION
SeinIntroduced as "The light and eyes of the Spirit Tree." Ingame, Sein's functions are to be our guide through Nibel directing us to where we must go. And also to act as Ori's first offensive ability, so the pair can safely progress through Nibel.
After Kuro's attack, Sein was left at the bottom of the Sunken Glades, too weak to return or seek help until Ori arrived. Apparently Ori's Light managed to revitalize Sein. Without Sein, the Spirit Tree lacks the ability to oversee and protect(?) the forest. It is through Sein that the majority of the game's text is delivered.
Spirit TreeThe Spirit Tree is the narrator of the journey, with 21 lines in the prologue and about 28 lines over the remainder of the game. The Spirit Tree is the parent/creator of the Light Spirits. With the help of Sein, the Spirit Tree is capable of performing the Light Ceremony and is also tasked with keeping the three elements of Nibel in balance. Many specifics concerning the Spirit Tree and the Light Ceremony are open to speculation or individual interpretation and will be discussed in the "About the Light" section of the guide.
GumoGumo is the last of the Gumon race, most of whom where lost when the Element of Winds ceased to function. It appears Gumo has been away from Forlorn Ruins for quite a long time (probably several years), based on the elaborate traps in his hideout at Moon Grotto and how far his hideout is from the Ruins. Based on his reaction upon entering Forlorn Ruins, he was unware of what had happened to the rest of kind.
The reason Gumo steals the Water Vein is not exactly clear. The most likely explanations both center around the fact the Gumon of Forlorn Ruins captured the Spirit Tree's Light in a vessel. Either the Water Vein was comforting to Gumo, as it's warmth and light reminded him of home. Or he had ideas on how he could use it to further his survival prospects in the now-deadly lands of Nibel. Other explanations may exist, maybe I'll add them to Alternate Theories later.
KuroOh Kuro. What, at first, seems like a standard evil to be evil antagonist ends up being a character who truly resonates with players emotionally by the end of the journey. All this despite not having any text dialogue, just a few animal sounds. Hers is the "tough decision" made at Mount Horu. There are a few possible explanations as to WHY she made that choice, which can be construed in multiple ways, depending on which themes you wish to apply to the story as a whole.
Kuro is the "her" referred to by Sein in explaining how he got lost in the Sunken Glades. And Kuro is also the one referred to by pronoun by Spirit Tree during Fil's Ancestral Tree event and the line "her misguided will" (often misattributed to Ori, esp. by first time players) when you meet the Spirit Tree.
Kuro was actually not even in the first draft of the story. But when she was added as the antagonist she seems to have aquired some of the story aspects that the original version of Naru had.
The Ancestral Trees
The process/reason for becoming an Ancestral Tree is not perfectly clear. Although, from the prologue, we see that Light Spirits may become flowers upon passing away.
As Ori approaches each Ancestral Tree, Sein says a few words about the spirit from whom the Tree came.
1. Fil (Wall Jump) In particular the last three photos are especially significant for this guide. The third provides a significant piece of information that helps explain the cycle of life and it's relation to the light. The fourth helps provide a time table for how long the time between the start and end of the prologue was. The fifth seems simple enough, but helps open the door to multiple interpretations about the life cycles of light spirits that will be discussed in a later section of the guide.
2. Ano (Charge Flame)
Not too much special to say about this one. Another re-iteration that Ancestral Trees originate from deceased Light Spirits and an example of how most trees description includes a trait they excelled at in life.
3. Leru (Double Jump)
Double Jump is a somewhat standard ability for platforming games, and we get a description that is somewhat standard for an Ancestral Tree. Dead spirit, spirit's name, what the spirit could do. In terms of Lore, this one doesn't expand on what we already know.
4. Reem (Bash)One of the most fun uses of the Y button in a game. But nothing too revealing here.
5. Ilo (Stomp)Pretty straightforward here. Ilo was the strongest and the Stomp learned from Ilo is the most powerful move Ori can use without help from an environmental hazards or an enemy's own projectile.
6. Tatsu (Climb) and AtsuTechnically just Tatsu become an Ancestral Tree. But based the similarity of names, their proximity, and how both involve torches, there's a high chance Atsu is the brother the text refers to.This Tree's story also re-emphasizes how dangerous Misty Woods has become.
7. Nir (Charge Jump) Another line about the sacrifice of the Ancestral Trees. Suggesting they were more than just random Light Spirits who died. Further speculation will be coming in later scetions of this guide.
About The Light (speculative)
Outside of the intentionally speculative "Alternate theories," this is likely the most speculative section of the guide.
Much of this section has other potentially valid interpretations. If something in DE or interviews makes it clear this is completely wrong, I'll move it to a new section.
Info for this section is from the following topic
http://steamcommunity.com/app/261570/discussions/0/528398719788372987/
Here are two great posts from Mr. KV concerning the Light Ceremony and Ancestral Trees.
Light Ceremony and the cycle of lifeOriginally posted by Mr. KV:Sein once said:
"The light of the Spirit Tree lives in all of us. He is the reason we're alive, he is the reason we grew."
""Their lights shall return to me", these words the Spirit Tree once said."
This suggests that all the living things in Nibel are connected to the Spirit Tree. When a creature dies, it's light returns to the Tree and it can then use the light to help young creatures grow, and thus keep the cycle of life running.
Gradually, as all creatures in Nibel reproduce, there is a chance that they will grow dark, turn rabid and hostile. The annual Light Ceremony then terminates the dark creatures, returns their light to the Spirit Tree, and the Tree then recycles the light for the generations to come. It may also be a way to make sure population doesn't grow out of balance (you wouldn't want to have huge spiders everywhere). So the Light Ceremony is a mechanism that keeps balance in all of Nibel.
Sein is a key part of the Spirit Tree, allowing it to influence the forest and use the Light Ceremony. When Kuro stole Sein the Tree could no longer control population and get rid of rabid creatures, so most of Nibel's inhabitants turn hostile over the years* and attack Ori on sight.
As Ori uses Sein's light to terminate creatures in his way, he also absorbs their light and grows more powerful as more and more of Nibel's light resources are concentrated in him. I think that after bringing balance to the three Elements Ori releases the light to the Spirit Tree, through whom all the creatures Ori and Sein had to kill are reborn in pure, non-rabid form.**
* Several years pass between the Great Storm and Ori finding Sein. Spirit Tree states this in one of the early gameplay footage.
** This would also give the devs a excuse to erase all Ori's skills and have him level up again in future games/dlcs ;)
Ancestral TreesOriginally posted by Mr. KV:Now on the Ancestral Trees and all the Spirit Light just lying around Nibel. Once again a quote of Sein:
"This spirit, another sacrifice for Nibel. Nir flew through the air, she soared through the sky. Her world knew no bounds until the forest turned blind."
As you can see in the Kuro's first attack cutscene, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of Ori-like spirits around the Spirit Tree. But there are only seven Ancestral Trees found in Nibel so far.
Sein says that the spirits in the Ancestral Trees made a sacrifice for Nibel. How so? What makes them special? As I said in the previous comment, when a creature dies in Nibel it's light returns to the Spirit Tree through whom it is then reborn. So all the Ori-like spirits that Kuro has killed have simply died in hope of rebirth in near future, as they probably had for centuries.
But the seven Spirits in Ancestral Trees choose a different fate. Instead of returning their light to the Tree, they used part of it to transform themselves into an Ancestral Tree, in the very uncertain hope that one day they could help someone restore the forest. That someone is Ori. He listens to the spirits, absorbs their light, their abilities. The seven spirits rejected eternal life to help Ori save Nibel.
As for the spirits that didn't turn into Ancestral Trees, ever wondered where does all the Spirit Light just lying around Nibel come from? It's their light. There never was a Light Ceremony that would harvest it into the Spirit Tree. It just lay where the spirits died for years, until Ori collects it.
And when Ori restores the Elements, you can see the Spirit Tree giving birth to many more spirits. These are not new spirits, these are the same that Kuro killed and Ori absorbed. Maybe Fil, Ano, Leru, Reem, Ilo, Tatsu and Nir, the seven Ancestral Tree spirits, are amongs them. Maybe not.
By the way, I don't remember all these things, I just take a lot of screenshots :D
Misc. Details
Just showcasing a few minor things that don't necessarily fit in the current categories but may still be relaevant.
Keystones This line is proof that, even during the good old days, Nibel was a dangerous place.
Signposts not sure if the symbols written on them have any actual meaning or not. But here's the pictures incase anyone's bored and wants to see if they can decipher them. Many other games have had a fictitious written symbol-> real letter language. A few where it's subtle but distinctly an actual alphabet instead of random are Klonoa 2 Lunatea's Veil (though they mispell "Off" as "Oll"), the Wii remake of the first Klonoa game (whose ending even listed BOTH the symbol->letter translation guide and how to unlock every unlockable in the game), and several FF games (FF10's Zanarkand and FF14 come to mind). A not so subtle example would be Ni no Kuni with it's Wizard's Compendium (ingame version or physical book) with a few puzzles being based around the translation.
I still need to get back and hunt down pictures for the "Mario pipe" easter egg, due to the two light spirits at the end of that cave being further evidence that Ori isn't fully grown. And the backround drawing in Sorrow Pass because I'm not sure what it's significance is (easter egg reference I don't know of? Actual reference to something else ingame? etc).
It may be a few weeks before I get those pics, as I'm SLOWLY replaying the game with mouse and keyboard. Mostly to try getting better at keyboard controls for other games. I figured a single player game I know would be less intimidating than getting curbstombed in unknown MOBAs, etc. Currently just entered Misty Woods (Sept 13, 2015) and around 100 deaths on keyboard. And shockingly, only 8 were from the Ginso escape.
EDIT: Decided to hold off on replay to avoid pre-DE burnout (plus a friend bought a four pack for Rocket League).
(Alleged) Plot Holes
In this section I take a stab at explaining why most of the plot holes of Ori and the Blind Forest are actually NOT plot holes.
SOLVED (I think)
Why Did Naru starve so soon after giving Ori the food?If you pay attention to the backgrounds, it is noticeably later at night when Ori finds more food. This means several hours, if not days, have passed. Not just a couple minutes.
How did Ori know using Kuro's Feather to float would work?Remember this scene?
Plus, Ori has taken large falls througout the game without harm (both in gameplay and in cutscene), typically without major harm. Just incase it failed. The only majorly damaging fall up to this point would have been at the end of the Ginso Tree.
How did Ori survive the fall from Ginso Tree? Actually saw this asked on a different forum and the devs told people to pay close attention to the cutscene. Turns out there's a splash effect at the end of the cutscene, so Ori had actually landed in the water and was then rescued by Gumo. TheMasterfulHuman brought a detail to my attention I missed. I assumed Ori fell on the wrong side (fell off left side, landed on right). But I hadn't realized that when in the Ginso Tree left and right (east/west?) are revered since you enter the tree via background and then walk from background towards forground at the start.
Naru and Gumo scene during Sorrow PassThree parts here. Can add screenshots to provide evidence of all three points if requested.
1]A Gumon was watching during Ori returning with the fruit in the prologue. Presumably this Gumon was Gumo, so that's how Gumo knew WHERE Naru was located.
2]As Ori approaches Fil's Ancestral Tree, Sein says "The light of the Spirit Tree lives in us all. He is the reason we're alive, he's the reason we grew." So, in early game text, it was foreshadowed that the Spirit Tree's light is responsible for (or can at least give) life. Whether there are other sources of life (i.e. an opposing force equal to the Spirit Tree, but not necessarily in the form a a tree) isn't clear nor addressed.
3]And guess what the Light Vessel contains. Exactly, the Light of the Spirit Tree. As it is located in the Gumons' home, chances are Gumo had at least some knowledge of the Light's capabilities.
Why did Kuro have to die? And why wasn't Naru affected?While fully grown creatures have FAR stronger resistence to the light than their children, they aren't fully immune. And that was one heckuva intense blast of light at the end. And Kuro was at dead center at it. Thematically, why Kuro tied to shield herself instead of fly away or have Ori do it is debateable. As that question is open to personal interpretation of both Kuro and some of the game's themes as a whole, I may speculate on it under the Alternate theories section instead.
Naru was much further away than Kuro, so she wouldn't have been hit by as hard of a blast. Plus it's possible (speculation) that either living with Ori for so long OR being revived by the Light Vessel granted Naru increased resistence (or possibly immunity) to the Light.
How did Kuro's Egg survive the blast of light at the ending?Multiple possible explanations here.
1]Kuro intentionally positioned herself as to shield her unborn child from the worst of the light.
2]When Ori touched the egg during the sequence after Forlorn Ruins, the egg/child was granted some resistence to the Light (or possibly even making it a creature of the light).
3]The egg's shell offers more protection than what the three babies had.
UNSOLVED
How did Kuro's last egg go "Many Years" without hatching?Ok, you got me here. I am aware of single cell organisms that can shield themseleves from extreme cold for years, such as bacteria. But an Owl's egg? Not so much.
Alternate Theories
This section covers a few alternative theories on some of the topics discussed earlier in the guide. This section is HIGHLY speculative. Several of the theories listed in this section of the guide are ones that I may not believe myself.
ENDING: Did Ori live or die? When I beat the game, I thought for sure that Ori lived. Maybe it was since I was pleading at the game to not kill Ori as soon as the explosion at the end of the Horu escape begun. I hadn't even considered the other option until I saw some Let's Players AND Steam forums both suggest the idea. The devs intentionally leave the question open to interpretation when asked.
Evidence that suggests Ori lives (probably very incomplete)
1]The spirit towards the front of the screen during the end cutscene where new spirits are being born looks similar to Ori
2]Generally in fiction, the protagonist's death would be obvious. If not shown or said, they generally didn't die.
3]Would Microsoft really want to have their new IP (MS owns the rights to Ori) die off in the first game? Wouldn't that make crossovers, cameos, and/or sequels a bit difficult?
Evidence that suggests Ori did not live (probably very incomplete)
1]Kuro sees Naru embrace Ori and then reminesces of her own DEAD offspring. Could just be a mother-to-mother moment,
2]As Kuro is now on the rock in Naru's home, Ori being on the rock is not an indication Ori survived.
3]Don't you think Ori would visit Naru and Gumo during the ending if Ori lived?
4]The choice of image during the credits when thanking all the fans of Ori for their support.
Themes of the game: Love LOVE is obviously a major theme. After all, look what one of the final storyline achievements is. Especially once you factor in what actually goes down in the ending.
Achievement: Love
Description: a beloved bond
Picture: Kuro.
You can take the view that this is simply a tribute to the power of motherly love from one mother to another, as shown by Kuro's decison to sacifcie herself rather than force Naru to suffer the pain Kuro knows all too well.
Or you could view the entire sequence of events leading to Nibel's fall as multiple characters (ST's Light Ceremony, Naru adopting Ori, Kuro removing the threat of the Light harming her children) as several individuals acting out for love with pure intentions, but failing to forsee the tragic consequences of their actions. In this interpretation, the rest of the game is not about Ori reviving the Elements. But rather, as evidenced by Ori's effect on Gumo, about giving those in Nibel the strength and conviction to learn to embrace love again, even after the devestation it has caused.
WHY did Kuro return Sein?This is heavily dependant on personal interpretation. A few theories I came up with include
1]Ori was too weak (or maybe the feather was too damaged?) to do it after Kuro snatches Ori and tosses Ori to the ground.
2]Kuro sees the flames threatening her child. Whether recognizing through Naru's kindness that even the Light deserves life, or that she doesn't wish her pain on Naru. Or merely in interest of the preservation of her last child as the flames are getting intense. Either way Kuro realizes the only way to get there before irreperable damage is done is to do it herself.
3]Kuro INTENDED to use herself as a sacrificial shield, in hopes to protect her last child from the brunt of the light's blast.
4]She underestimated the strength of the light and thought she could tough it out. She already survived flying through the Light Ceremony for an extended length of time and stealing Sein.
5]Having herself been moved to see the worth of the Light due to Naru's love for Ori, she hoped her actions could sway Sein and the Spirit Tree to see that creatures of the darkness, even the offspring of those who brought calamity upon Nibel, deserve a chance at life.
6]Maybe there is no great lore based reason. Maybe it's just because it simply gives us major feels while offering Kuro a chance at redemption.
EDIT (Nov 2015) : One of the game directors discusses Kuro's part in the ending in a podcast. And how Microsoft suggested that the ending turns Kuro into the hero instead of Ori/the player and some may feel their journey invalidated, etc. but let them do it anyways.
The fate of Naru's ChildOther interpretations include Naru's child left of it's own will (and is possibly even still alive!) or the child was a miscarriage. Miscarriage considered upon reading one review which described Naru's pose while sitting on the rock in terms of a pregnant woman. Personally, I favor the theory that she lost her child to a previous Light Ceremony.
Naru's Motives in PrologueNOTE: This interpretation is likely innaccurate, given developer's description of Naru's VA.
The most likely explanation is that Naru was trying to protect Ori. But when I first figured out the painting in the prologue was of her and a previous child, another possibility popped into my mind. Whether she knew about the Light Ceremony (unclear if she does or not) or was merely noticing Ori's curiosity to the light, this possibility would still fit. WHAT IF Naru was trying to keep Ori to herself in order to avoid the pain of having Ori leave? As opposed to honestly trying to protect Ori. This interpretation could expand the giving of the last berry to not just an act of sacrifice and motherly love, but also an apology for her selfishness or realization of the error of her ways.
EDIT (Nov2015) : Found a Podcast from one of the game directors. He actually said in the first version of the story, Naru was actually considered to have caused the decay. Although that was a version of the story without Kuro. Also, he left the possibility of whether or not Naru knew about the Light Ceremony open.
Conclusion And Special Thanks
ConclusionWell, that's it for the Lore and storyline aspects of the guide. There's still a couple bonus sections covering other aspects of the game, including Name Oriigns, Voice Acting, and Music, further down in the guide for those interested.
If there's other aspects you want me to cover, or if you just need me to add some relevent screenshots to certain parts of the guide, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Special Thanks
A huge thank you to tremendously talented folks at Moon Studios (creators of the game) for creating this game and Microsoft (publisher and owner of the Ori IP). You succeeded at your goal. Years down the road, I will remember the first time I got to play Ori and the Blind Forest.
Also a very big special thanks to everyone whom contibuted to Schockal's topic "Naru's Previous Child" for being the catalyst that eventually inspired the creation of this guide
http://steamcommunity.com/app/261570/discussions/0/528398719788372987/
The third special thanks is to Reddit. Much of my "Bonus" sections are based off their AMA with the developer. There's over 500 comments, so if you crave more information on some of the game's inspirations and design philosophies and such, check them out.
https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/2yxclb/hi_everyone_its_moon_studios_creators_of_ori_and/
BONUS: Behind The Prologue (Mechanics)
NOTE: This section is mostly based off my own conjecture.
This section isn't to explain the lore within the prologue. Basic Story covers most of that. But rather, this section will discuss (gush over?) a few of the nuances that helped make the prologue so effective.
As a minor piece of trivia, there are 21 lines of narration in the prologue. The entire REST OF THE GAME only has 28 such lines. Maybe I'll count how many of the 21 are during player segments vs automated segments later.
I really can't say how just much the breathtaking art, animation, and music help at drawing players in. But that's a given. Let's get to the more subtle details. And though it's only ten minutes and an extremely high on the time invested vs. time players spent there scale, it was absolutely worth all the effort.
1]Left to Right vs. Right to Left
If you notice the prologue, Naru finding Ori and all the "feel good" type moments all have you moving from left to right. As in how most western audiences read. As in how most platformers of our youth taught us to progress. Between that and the amazing presentation, things feel very comfortable and happy. As you'd expect from a game when the key image you see (game description page, OST icon, etc) involves Naru lovingly embracing cute little Ori. Strong emotional attachment absolutely confirmed within five minutes of starting the game.
But when worrisome stuff starts going down, we start heading RIGHT TO LEFT. During the mysterious of the Light Ceremony (which, despite the beauty and good intentions, led to disaster). When Ori goes to gather berries for Naru, we don't get to run right. We skip to the tree and are tasked to head LEFT to return with the food while seeing memories of our mother. At this point perhaps we are even realizing, and desperately hoping against, what is about to happen next.
But is THAT enough toying with our emotions? Of course not, the section with Ori struggling through Sunken Glades is next and my first time with that scene was painful. And even the first section the game proper continues right to right. While subtle, the effect is quite effective at stirring an inexplicable sense of something just feeling off.
The right to left mechanic, at least for the Sunken Glades part, was a late addition to the prologue if you watch the trailers. It was implemented after the E3 2014 trailer was made, but before the TGS 2014 trailer. Speaking of E3 2014, it's trivia time. Microsoft seriously considered leading that E3 with Ori, but eventually chose the more popular and mainstream Call of Duty.
2]Ori's so Fast! The Illusion of speed
To help players really appreciate the speed of Ori, you get control of slow Naru before speedy and decent jumping Ori. Plus the whole warm cave instead of rainstorm thing. Then once you get the main game going, not only do you get a super fast Ori in stark contrast to the zoomed in and labored pace of the last section of the prologue. But the camera also zooms out and focuses behind Ori. This detail is an intentional stylistic choice to both emphasize the vastness of Nibel AND give an illusion of Ori moving EVEN FASTER than Ori actually does.
3]That trip through Sunken Glades
You think you get to save the world, or maybe this game was cute, so I'll be able to revive Mommy, right? lolno. YOU DIE. Such a stark contrast to the first few minutes.
Haunting narrator voice. check.
A clearly weakened Ori emphasized by several struggles, including pressing jump TWICE just to weakly climb a tree's base. And the mutlitude of animations such as rolling into the rocks and timidly trying to tiptoe past the bramble? check.
That heartbreaking crawl and final grasp? Ouch.
And the final line of narration to really nail it home, followed by a spectacle of music and art.
As stated in 2], the slow, labored movement in this scene also helps make Ori seem SO FAST by contrast once the main game begins.
4]The Prologue is PLAYABLE.
So many story-heavy intros bog players down with countless amounts of text and, in many cases for older games, a large amount of FMVs, that are hugely disconnected from the ingame graphics and mechanics.
For Ori's prologue, the often seemless transitions between game controlled sections and player controlled sections in the prologue help give the player a feeling of agency and connection to the characters and events. This helps achieve the "do, don't show" feel that many games fail to achive (especially in games with "cinematic" action cutscenes, despite the gameplay not letting you do anything remotely near that level of awesome ingame).
And the prologue dialogue being narration rather than game stopping text box helps with this as well. As does the usage of time lapses and montages to achieve the "show, don't tell" goal of books and movies in several cases (bridge building, food supply dwindling, forest dying). A lesser intro would substitute black screen or, at best, a scrolling screen with tons of text.
BONUS: Reddit About Name Origins
The next few sections may be interesting to those interested in name origins, design philosphies, etc. The vast majority of content from these next few sections were mentioned during the 500+ comments during the Ask The Developers Reddit discussion earlier in 2015.
That discussion can be found here
https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/2yxclb/hi_everyone_its_moon_studios_creators_of_ori_and/
The italicized sections are quoted from that Reddit topic.
Ori is usually used as a boy name indeed, and we took it from the Hebrew indeed :) However, we didn't intend Ori to be a boy or a girl specifically, you won't see their gender mentioned anywhere in the game. It's open for everyone's personal interpretation!
MY NOTES: During the discussion some of the Reddit users used "their" and other's used "she" when refering to Ori later in the discussions. Also the Hebrew name Ori roughly translates to "My Light," which is very fitting.
Speaking on Ori's design, the lead designer for Ori had this to say
I was the designer of Ori and I spent a very long time playing around with shapes. The final design has a bit of a squirrel, a bit of a stag or a faun, maybe a tiny bit of a monkey (I like monkeys). I wanted Ori to look like a creature that belongs into the forest but still not just look like an animal, but something unique and different.
NaruNaru's name's origin was confirmed by the dev as Japanese in origin and confirming the following Reddit user theory:
It is a girl name and it comes from the Japanese language. This name has actually a lot (about 15-20) of definitions but the ones I found to be significant are 'one who plays a role in something' (as in being a mother for Ori) and 'one who bears fruit' (like the fruit in the prologue or just food in general).
SeinWe took the meaning from the german word sein which translates to existance or being.
MY NOTES: Coincidentally (or maybe not) Sein would be pronounced the same as "Sign" in English. Which makes sense, since part of Sein's role is to be your sign of where to go next. It also fits the role of the flying compnaion having a name similar to their function tradition of the N64 Zelda titles (Navi is your Navigator for Hyrule while Tatl and Tael obviously tattletell about Termina).
Kuro Kuro definitely came from the Japanese word for "black" indeed. However, she's no boy, but a mother :)
MY NOTES: As this game has a light/dark duality, the meaning behind antagonist Kuro's name should be no surprise, given the meaning behind Ori's name.
BONUS: Reddit About The Voice Acting
The spoken language is a fictional one, but only about as complex as Klonoa Door to Phantomile. It's not as complex as Klonoa 2 Luantea's Veil, let alone something like LotR's Elfish language.
Again, if you are interested in thsi sort of stuff, here's the link to the Reddit topic that provided the italicized segments of this post
https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/2yxclb/hi_everyone_its_moon_studios_creators_of_ori_and/
I think none of us wanted english narration. It just sounds more "mysterious" with a made-up language like that, and it also is a lot easier to translate! Also, note that most of the team doesn't even speak english as their first language.
and another dev reply was
The language is made up, for various reasons, despite the obvious "it's a fantasy world, and this just fits" one thing you have to keep in mind is, that it is still a somewhat small production. Where one has to look where to put budget, and an actual language would mean doing audio for all supported languages. But besides the possible budget reasons this would also mean that you will have to exchange one vision for the voice for many, which could be hard. And what sounds great for a foreigner might not sound great for someone who actually speaks the language.
It's not an actual language, but it's meant to sound like one. It's not just random noises, and if you listen you can occasionally hear words like "Ori" mixed in, and various repeated words/sounds, to give you a sense that you're reading the translation.
As for each of the six main characters, here's what the developers had to say.
Note: Aeralie refers to Aeralie Brighton who did the vocals in the games music.
Spirit Tree is somewhat of the anchor character and narrator of the story. We went for an ancient, powerful but relatable, omnipresent character. This was probably the most difficult to nail from the sound design and casting stand point. In the early revisions it was too grave and spooky. Finally we cast Eric Braa and he was able to bring warmth and expression along with his deep voice. and yes...he read our English lines and created a language on the spot.
Sein - also took some exploration. In the early revs we weren't sure how 'intelligent' Sein should be. We were concerned with over doing the made up language thing, but Gareth had the great idea of trying Aeralie and she nailed it. There is a good deal of sound design accompaniment going on with character, but people have special places in the brains to process voice that trigger empathy...and nothing can beat a talented voice artists expressing the characters.
Kuro Is a main character, but voiced completely with sound design. This was a joint effort on the part of Geoff Garnett, Beau Jimenez and I. Kuro has the greatest character arc in the game, so the design was very challenging. Anger, resentment, rage, shock...but also at the end sadness, empathy and heroism. We used hawks, sea lions, doves, ravens...all kinds of stuff
Gumo this shifty creature was interesting and fun. I did this one (along with Ori and Naru), and overall I think of him as a little bit of comic relief. Gumo only says one word (Gumo), but in many different emotions. Sometimes happy, coy, sad, scared. His antics and body type cracked me up and even though he's a trickster...you like him anyway.
Ori as the playable character you want to give the player feedback and define them a bit, but not do so much that you're taking the role of 'feeling' out of the player's domain. So Ori is about as minimal as we could make it, while still 'acting' out Ori's experience. We were going for somewhere around an adolescent's level of maturity. Ori is innocent and people like helping kids...its programmed in:). It also helps that we play this character from such a powerless state and learn and power up along with Ori.
Naru is Naru. A one dimensional sweet mother figure. Very important to the story, but very straightforward.
Actually that description for Naru seems to imply the alternative theories section for for Naru is probably not correct, since that theory would be a bit too complicated.
BONUS: Reddit About The Music
The final of my sections covering a few highlights from the Reddit Developer AMA, which can be found in full over at
https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/2yxclb/hi_everyone_its_moon_studios_creators_of_ori_and/
As for a question concerning inspirations for the music, here's what the composer had to say
Thank you so much!
There are many different influences in the game just with regard to the design and visuals. I used that richness to dictate how I wrote the music. There was a lot of trial and, I played the game for 100s of hours to make sure that the music felt right and matched the visuals perfectly.
Moon did give me some guidelines (Avatar by James Horner, various scores by Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, Jo Hisaishi). A specific example, after the Ginso Tree escape, you wake up in the Thornfelt Swamp and you can swim for the first time. Music is inspired by Finding Nemo there and I wanted to give the player a sense of serenity. A score I referenced myself was 'Life Of Pi' by the amazing Mychael Danna.
Ultimately though, Moon Studios really gave me carte blanche to do whatever I wanted as long as it worked !! I listen to a lot of music from all around the world (I try to avoid listening to film soundtracks too much) and having travelled as much as I have, there is just a lot to draw on. My hope was that it gave the soundtrack for Ori a sense of universality (is that even a word?) Then when you add Aeralie's amazing voice on top of some of the cues, it is the final layer to complete a rich tapestry.
As for his favorite track?
As for the one particular track... that is very hard because I am fond of many of them for differing reasons. I'll pick a handful.
1. Ori, Lost In The Storm - this is kind of where it kicked off with Aeralie and myself, and is the opening of the E3 trailer.
24. Completing The Circle - I think this is one of the most important cues in the game, as it plays the moment you receive your last core ability (Charge Jump). It is a much more epic cue than most of the other gameplay music.
30. Fleeing Kuro - this was just so much fun to write, and being able to weave a variation of the main theme in here was also fun.
32. Light of Nibel - I place great importance on end credits music, because in a game that has a journey like Ori's, I think you need to give the player some time to reflect on that. Light of Nibel is every single musical force in the game coming together one last time.
Also, on a seperate podcast interview (I seem to have misplaced the Youtube link) the composer explains that the lack of percussion is intentional. This approach was taken as he felt as if the sound effects of the moment to moment gameplay performed the role that percussion traditionally fills.
LINKS
To various interesting Ori materials. Gotta re-find a few of them.
Mostly interviews, podcasts, etc. type of stuff.
Game director about the narrative, including the game's original plan for the antagonist and Microsoft's reaction to a certain aspect of the ending. Also some minor details concerning DE (but no date).
1 HOUR Podcast
http://digitalwrites.libsyn.com/episode-one-ori-and-the-blind-forest
Twitter account of the composer
As of Nov 2015 there's still a lot of links related to Ori, esp. in the March2015-April 2015 section. Links to remixes, teases of DE info, podcasts, etc.
https://twitter.com/garethcoker
REDDIT AMA from early 2015
https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/2yxclb/hi_everyone_its_moon_studios_creators_of_ori_and/
Official and free download of the music for Main Theme, E3 Trailer, and Launch Trailer
https://soundcloud.com/garethcoker/sets/ori-and-the-blind-forest
Including this as I've seen people ask where/if the main theme is on the OST you buy (it's not)
Tentative DE Section
Decided to convert the DE version of the guide into two smaller guides that will be posted onto the DE guides section once it is ready.
One guide will stick mostly to the "facts." The other will be dedicated to various speculation and other similar topics.
They should have rough versions posted for everyone's perusal sometime this month. A lot of it will be copy/paste, but I will also use it as a chance to proofread and prne out some parts. I still intend to keep the current guide up (just not updated) after the DE guides come out.
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=508519213
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