The Last Guardian – Part One – Free Trico

The Last Guardian follows a young boy as he makes his way through an assortment of puzzles and rooms, helped along the way by a massive griffin-like beast called Trico. Players will need to make use of the environment around them, and even Trico, if they wish to solve all the puzzles presented in the game, and make it back to civilization. In this guide, we’ll go over the first portion of the game, which tasks you with freeing Trico and escaping a small cave system.

Remove the Spear from Trico’s Back

After the initial cut scene, a screen with various moving symbols will appear; you’ll encounter this multiple times throughout the game. When this happens, simply press any of the buttons on your controller, including R1, R2, L1, L2, X, Square, Circle and Triangle. When the symbols fade from the screen, the true game begins.

You awake in a strange place, with the massive beast, Trico, laying before you. A spear juts from its rear hindquarter. Using the Left Thumbstick, move around the area. You can look around the room by using the Right Thumbstick. When you are ready to continue, climb atop the small pile of ruins and jump onto Trico’s back using Triangle. You should get a prompt to remove the spear. Press and hold Circle, then hold down on the Left Thumbstick. Once the spear is removed, Trico will react to the pain and kick the boy aside.

Find Food for Trico

When you awake again, it’s time to find Trico something to eat. There are three different barrels around this room that you can acquire and feed to Trico. Look for the switch on the left side of the ruins across the room from Trico. You can interact with the switch by holding Circle and then holding down on the Left Thumbstick. The gate to your right should open. Head inside and press Circle to pick up the barrel.

At this point, Trico is not friendly to the boy. Because of this, you will want to toss the barrel at Trico so that it can consume this object. To throw items, press Square and point in the direction you want to throw. Get used to using this skill, as you’ll need to use it often throughout the game. Before you can continue, you’ll need to feed Trico the other two barrels. To acquire them, head up the steps and jump onto the platform where they are hidden. One of them requires you to crawl through a small opening. The boy will automatically crouch when you get close to areas that you can crawl through.

After Trico devours all three barrels, it will try to stand, but there is another spear in its side. Climb atop the beast by jumping onto its back, and look for the spear jutting from its right-hand shoulder. Pull it out to continue. The beast will freak out again, tossing the boy onto the ground hard enough to knock him out.

Free Trico From its Chains

When you awaken again, it is finally time to free Trico from its chains. To do this, climb atop the creature and make your way up to its neck. There is a switch that you can interact with. Pull the switch to loosen the chain and free the beast. You’ll also learn how to call out to Trico, allowing you to signal the beast in your direction. To call out to Trico, press R1 on the PlayStation 4 controller.

With Trico freed, it is time to find a way out of the cave. One path is blocked, so head to the corridor that leads around a corner to a dead end. This is where you’ll learn to use Trico’s massive size to your advantage. There are several barrels here that you can feed to Trico. Call the beast over, then climb atop its body and jump to the ledges to move up the area. To progress, you’ll need to find a small hole that the boy can crawl through.

Move through the hole and continue down the corridor until you come to a thin crack in the wall. Move through the crack and then look for a raised platform across the lit room that you arrive in. There is a shield-like object here that you must pickup to proceed. You can stow the item by pressing Right or Left on the D-Pad. To activate the Shield-Mirror, press and hold Circle.

Find a Way Out of the Cave

Head back through the crack in the wall and return to Trico. Climb down the wall and stand beside Trico. At this point, you should receive a prompt to raise the Mirror. Use Circle to raise it, point the Mirror up at the crack in the ceiling. This will activate Trico’s power, and shoot electricity from his tail.

With the power activated, call Trico and head back to the main room where you first woke up. There are several boards, crates and stones covering the room’s exit on the side opposite of the corridor that leads to the Mirror. Use the Mirror to cause Trico to shoot lightning from his tail and destroy the barrier.

With the barrier removed, continue forward, careful not to fall off the edge of the walkway. Trico should follow you around, but if you find the beast lagging behind, give it a few calls with R1.

The pathway should lead you to a large room with an underground lake. You can either jump into the lake to get down quickly, or use the pathway on the right side of the room. Before you head down, though, use the Mirror to break through the boards covering a doorway on the left side of the room.

Once it is cleared, jump down and make your way inside. Climb the chain inside to access a higher platform with a crate of food barrels for Trico. Push the crate off the ledge to break it open.

From here, simply grab the barrels and toss them out into the water. This will entice the massive beast to drop into the liquid, where it will consume the barrels. Once it has finished eating, you’ll need to look for a large opening along the same side of the cave. Climb on top of Trico when it arrives and then jump up into the corridor, you can also ride Trico up the pathway. Head up the path and jump onto the small ledges at the end of the tunnel. You can climb up the wall to another ledge above that holds a hole which leads outside. Crawl into the hole and move through it to bring this portion of the game to an end.

Continue on to The Last Guardian walkthrough part two, or return to our The Last Guardian guide for more details and tips to help you conquer the ruins of Trico’s world.