Thank you for the kind message, 🍉, and button link (I also linked back on playico.html). Nice to see other Ico fans out here.

Question, and sorry if I missed it, but will you be detailing how the North American release PS2 version differs from the more polished later releases?

That information has been mostly documented on both the Cutting Room Floor page for the game, as well as the Team ICO Wiki. There was also a long and amazing tumblr post getting into more detail, which you can find here: https://frabjoyous.tumblr.com/post/650917679529623552/ico-regional-differences-what-are-they-really

I might detail this information on the site someday, but I think the first step will involve documenting each part of the castle in its own massive 'character page' of sorts, which I've been hesitant to start working on.

Awesome, thanks for the info! I had no idea I was missing out on such cool features with the NA release. I'm looking forward to whatever you do, especially a documentation of each part of the castle. I understand why you might be hesitant; it definitely seems like a lot of work.