Well there's a story and moments in the story which help make the relationship between Ico and Yorda one of the most applauded in gaming, but that starts right from the get go so the OP should already know about the story.  Nikko is right, if you don't like Ico at the point the OP mentioned nothing is really going to drastically change to change that opinion.

oh yea,lol,lol,lol.

This thread makes me sad.  How can everyone sound so disinterested? It's a great game! lol

no,I thought it was boring back in the day. drag that stupid girl around,fight those cheap ghost,puzzle after puzzle,last boss fight,end game. lol

Haven't played Ico in ages.  I remember it being pretty exciting when I was trying to accomplish something while saving Yorda from being kidnapped, though.  Most of the fun in the game is derived for figuring out how to make it further.  Some of the puzzles required using quite a bit of brain power.  But, as others have said, the game is pretty much the same from beginning to end.  I remember getting a sword at some point.  You like swords, don't you?

Is it still top notch?Have games exceeded that type of relationship? 

If you didn't like ICO in the first twenty minutes, it wasn't for you.

I think some games have a comparably well done relationship but on a whole I'd say no, just because the connection between the two in Ico was such a big part of the game from a story standpoint as well as gameplay.  Feeling the tug of Yorda as you pull her along through the rumble in the conrtoller is still the best use of rumble that I've ever seen in a game. 

iirc Ico also has the no. 1 most romantic scene as far as IGN are concerned with SotC coming in either 2nd or 3rd.  Personally I didn't see the scene as romantic but it was certainly one of the most emotional in gaming. 

Well there is a pretty interesting sort of twist near the end.  Some of the enemies look a little like........well, if you're interested, you could always youtube it.

It's still top notch because games after Ico started implementing voice actors thus leaving less to your imagination.

Well actually I played for the first time last year and didn't like it.