Shadow of the Colossus

aka: NICO, SotC, Wanda to Kyozō, Wangda yu Juxiang
Moby ID: 19875
PlayStation 2 Specs
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In an ancient time long past, a young man travels to the ends of the Earth, a place that is said to be forbidden to enter. He carries a young woman, who died from a terrible curse. He seeks the Dormin, a strange and God-like being that resides there. The Dormin is surprised that the man carries an ancient and magical sword, and speaks to the man. The man pleas for his help in bringing back the woman's cursed soul, however the being says it is the law of mortals that a dead soul cannot be brought back. He does say though, that if the man is willing to accept some heavy consequences, that there might be a way to revive her. But it will not be easy.

The hero must embark on a quest to slay the sixteen colossi, giant creatures that tower hundreds of feet above the Earth. Using his ancient sword and his horse Agro, he must travel across the immense landscape seeking the colossi to save his love. Taking the form of various animals or bipedal human-like creatures, these colossi are tough and fierce. Their skin is tougher than leather, and the armor they wear is literally rock. However, by using his ancient sword, the man can penetrate the weak spot on them and destroy the towering beings and free his love's soul.

Shadow of the Colossus is set in the same universe as ICO, and is a prequel to it. The entire game is dedicated to locating and fighting the sixteen colossi, which must be faced and defeated in a particular order. Finding the giant creatures is not always easy: the hero must mount his horse and ride through the world's vast landscapes, using his glowing sword as an indicator of the colossus' proximity. There are no enemies or hazards in the game world outside of the colossi battles. After a colossus has been found, a large-scale battle begins. Most of the colossi are huge, and much of the challenge in the battles lies in climbing on top of these creatures and staying there, while they are trying to shake the player character off. In a certain way the colossi function as hostile, moving platform stages.

The general goal in every battle is to reach the colossus' weakpoint and repeatedly stab it with the sword until he dies. Since the colossi vary greatly in shape, size, speed, intelligence, and attitude towards the hero, the player will have to adapt to different fighting styles and employ different tactics against them. Most of the battles involve extended platform action sequences, as the hero is trying to climb on the colossus and find its weak spot. Grabbing the creature's fur, timing the jumps, and getting in a good position to use the sword are often essential. Other tactics include fighting on horseback, using ranged attacks with the bow, luring the colossus into specific locations to use the environment against it, taking advantage of the terrain, etc. Environments in which battles take place are also varied, including mountains, deserts, lakes, ancient ruins, and others.

Spellings

  • ワンダと巨像 - Japanese spelling
  • 汪达与巨像 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • 완다와 거상 - Korean spelling (Hangul)

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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

262 People (225 developers, 37 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 92% (based on 49 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 147 ratings with 10 reviews)

Is this a city or an enemy?

The Good
One of the things that rubbed me up the right way in this game is the main character. Sir, "whatever the fuck his name was" is not your everyday knight that you see in most medieval themed games. He is not on some holy quest, he is not even trying to get by, he is just been a completely pathetic loser. The story goes that this lad's girl dies and he can't for the love of God get over it and move on. Instead he brings her to a forbidden land and makes a deal with a demon, he is to hunt down 16 gigantic monsters and kill them, corrupting his body and soul in the process and throwing away everything he's got. Even the player can likely tell that his quest is going to be fruitless, but he is such an emotional wreck that he doesn't care either way.

Before we get to the meat of this game I'd like to EXPAND on the forbidden land in question (u c what I did thar?). This place is gigantic and very well designed, it is almost completely untouched by civilization and consists entirely out of natural beauty (or pixels). There were waterfalls, mountains, endless deserts, lush forests and even an area that looked like The Shire from Lord of the Rings. The few buildings you do run into make for an interesting change and they are often nicely fit with the area you were in anyway.

The world is not the only aspect that looks rather beautiful though, the characters are nothing different. While you will mostly be looking at "what's his name", that's not really a problem at all because his design is very good. He doesn't wear overly excessive clothing, but he does just enough to rise above standard clothing. Just like with Fi from Skyward Sword I loved the way his clothes moved in the wind.

But who the hell plays this game to look at that loser, we are here for the true stars of this game: The colossi. The best thing about these monsters is that they are actually gigantic monstrosities, not like most other fantasy games where "huge" is about the size of a house. The colossi are hulking giants that, as you might have guessed from the title, look like walking castles in terms of size.

Fighting these creatures feels fittingly epic and is way better than most other games where you just keep firing arrows at something like this or go through some routine to hurt him. Some colossi do require you to stun them and all of them have scripted weak-spots, but you will have to climb your way to them, jumping from ledge to ledge and desperately clinging to their hair as they shake you around. The grip-bar that shows you how much longer you can cling to the monster is a great way to force you to take chances and act riskier than you normally would.

Logically these monsters also pose a huge challenge and you will want to avoid getting hit by them. Even the trembles send out by their footsteps are enough to take a bit of health away, but if they manage to hit you with their attacks they will likely kill you in one or two hits. This is one of the rare games where I was actually sweating while playing it, the last one been the latest Zelda game for less fair reasons.

One thing I can't thank the game enough for though is the fact that it automatically puts up a checkpoint for you whenever you start a boss-fight. There were also some neat optional save-points set up all over the land that could come in handy.

Finally, I should mentioned the soundtrack. It was actually hearing the final boss theme that sold this game to me and there was a lot more where that came from. Overall it's the boss themes that make up the best songs in this game and they always helped keeping me hyped for the next encounter.

The Bad
I am going to get hate-mail for this, but I just hated that damn horse. Agro, as it is apparently called is your companion for this adventure and also your mount. I really tried to like her, but while the story tries its best, it is just held back by how utterly and completely annoying the horse is during gameplay. I think everybody can agree that a mount is supposed to get you from A to B as fast as possible, but Agro has to be arsed every second you are on top of her, to go at a reasonable pace and the slightest bump in the road will make her stagger. You also need to kick her like five times before she even starts moving to begin with. I am sorry, but I simply can't feel sympathy for something that annoys me.

Something that kinda makes me sad is that the Forbidden Land is naturally rather empty and this means that there are no characters. Aside from you, your horse, the imprisoned demon and your girlfriend who is apparently immune to rotting, there are no characters anywhere. This means that there is nobody to interact with and interacting with characters is my favorite part of any video games as it helps flesh out the world and immerse me into the story.

The only negative review I could find on this game on Mobygames mentioned the voice-acting was horrible, but I am not quite sure if "voice-acting" can be actually named here. The reason for this is that I am not even sure what these people are supposed to be speaking, it just sounds like complete gibberish to me and I didn't blame The Sims for bad voice-acting either. The language does annoy me though because it's crap like this that makes this game awkward to play when friends are near, like a family member walking in on you watching Star Trek in the middle of some Alien conversation.

While I mentioned that I liked the grip-mechanics there is one problem with them that just annoyed me. I was told that in order to increase your grip you need to shoot arrows into lizards and while I found a lot of lizards, I was never sure if I was actually getting more grip from them, the bar never seemed to increase. This made it even more difficult for me when I walked into a lizard paradise with over eight of the buggers in the same five square meters of ground.

The Bottom Line
I clocked a short five hours on this game and this was my first playthrough ever, but unlike say... Call of Duty this game actually feels that much longer. Shadow of the Colossus feels like a very rich experience whereas most games are long and stretched, this game is short and stuffed. Fighting the colossi is by far one of the most exciting things I have done in a game for a while and despite some flaws and a weak ending, I am really glad I played this game.

This game is not meant for the people who expect a game to be paced very fast, keeping you in the action at all times. Shadow of the Colossus takes its time to immerse you into the world and you will spend 70% of your time travelling instead. If you like immersive games than you owe it to yourself to check this one out. If you are a fan of platform games or you like the premise of killing colossi than you should be aware of the pacing and try this at your own risk.

PlayStation 2 · by Asinine (957) · 2012

Magnificence

The Good
Once the introduction to "Shadow of the Colossus" is through playing and option to start a new game appears the audience knows that they are about to embark on an interactive journey like nothing else they have ever played. Like all good story telling the introduction tells the audience what they are in for. The camera set-up is following a bird soaring through a canyon, and beyond it is a great big beautiful world where you will live for the near future. There is orchestral music playing but the audience only hears a few solitary instruments - there are moments of quiet and stillness that give the audience time to think and remark. There is a man on a horse traversing difficult terrain and they work together to jump to higher ground; there is comfort and friendship between horse and rider. What the audience is left with is a feeling, not exposition - and that's what this title is about: feeling.

Drama aside there is a plethora of other "good stuff" to talk about. First the camera. There has been some criticism made about the camera system - I think they are misdiagnosed and reviewers fail to acknowledge how successful the designers were to create a camera that even worked for something this ambitious. And the camera does more than get the job done. - it feels purposeful and always reacting to the dynamics of the title.

The camera follows the controls very closely. But the camera has to deal with three different types of control: character, character on horse, and character interacting with the colossi. Normal player controls feel allot like "Ico"; that is a good thing. Character on horse controls are simply awesome. You the player feel like you are actually riding a horse, an animal that has a mind an instincts of its own, instead of directly controlling every movement of the horse. There are many points in the game where you the player can put down the controller and the A.I. of the horse will navigate the world successfully. Finally there is character interacting with the colossi control. They are very intuitive and fit the purpose perfectly. Clambering up and down giants that are always moving, scrambling to hang on for dear life when they attempt to throw you off their bodies, and making your attacks on them are executed wonderfully, and more importantly, simply.

The visuals of the game are, of course, beautiful. The distance that the player can see is limited only by the horizon. Distant mountains are hazy and close rivers are a torrent. The character models are dazzling and the colossi are truly a thing to behold. In conjunction with the visuals are the movements in the game. The models are not just beautiful to look at they are beautiful to see in motion. When your character is fleeing on the ground from a lumbering colossi the look is familiar and surreal. When the character mounts his horse, either to ride to a colossus or from a colossus, is either some of the best key-framing or best motion capture ever done for a videogame.

And finally, the music is what binds this adventure together. It takes the experience beyond a meager television screen and showers the audience with magic. It catapults the events on the screen into your mind and gives them a voice of their own.

The Bad
The game is so much fun that the audience might feel guilty identifying some of "Shadow of the Colossus's" weaker points. There are some instances of a drop in frame rate. But to the developer's credit the pace of the game does not slow with the frame rate, so the action continues at the same rate. This is evidence that the developers knew they were encountering limitations in the PS2 technology but sought to overcome it the best way they could.

The Bottom Line
All people would be better off playing this game, (or at least seeing it be played). There were moments in this game I will never forget. But these moments were unlike anything other in a videogame. I felt a sense of awe and joy, and I relished every second and every minute of it. When the character is toppled from a colossus, scrambles to his feet, and with a press of the X button yells desperately for his horse "Agro", you the player are no longer in a room with four walls, your back on your horse accelerating between the legs a moving mountain, standing up in the saddle, and preparing to jump back onto the colossus that you must bring down.

PlayStation 2 · by D P (129) · 2006

Beautiful.

The Good
Even before starting Shadow of the Colossus, one might already have an inclination as to how beautiful, how epic, or how different this game will be. And after the introduction, one might have an even greater sense of what is to come. Yet, that one still has no idea.

It is nearly impossible to describe the feeling that springs forth upon seeing the first cinematic of the first Colossus lumbering about its portion of the expansive landscape. All that was expected, or imagined, is washed away to be filled with a... an uplifting awe. If it were not for the sublime, heavy task that, you, the hero(Wander) agrees to undertake, one might be content just admiring the impressiveness and beauty of the giant. However...

There is a battle to be had. You are not entirely alone in this struggle, as you have your most reliable steed, Agro, accompanying you into danger, but it is you alone who must scale and ultimately fell the Colossus. It knows you are there and perhaps even knows why you are there. It will not allow you to simply climb, find its point of weakness and drive your sword into its body. Crushing you beneath its feet, smashing you to bits, violently thrashing you about, but you are triumphant. The Colossus is slain and there is satisfaction, albeit short-lived.

That is only one of 16. Each Colossus bringing a sense of wonderment. What will the next one look like? What is needed to be done to defeat it? Each defeat becoming less satisfying and possibly more sorrowful. One might wonder at the killing of these giants. The cinematics, the music all lending, and leading to a very heartfelt, soulful conclusion.

The Bad
Much has been said about the camera being a nuisance at times, and slight graphical errors. All can EASILY be dismissed. There is one conscious disappointment for me. However, it will not be mentioned, for I fear it would turn you away from partaking in a tremendous experience. It did not do so for me, but it can be regarded as a bummer, and might do so for you.

The Bottom Line
Shadow of the Colossus is a game that could play a sweet, sweet melody on your heartstrings. If you prefer to experience a game, rather than just play it, Shadow certainly is one. If you prefer to play, let Shadow satisfy you.

PlayStation 2 · by SlapHappy (10) · 2006

[ View all 10 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Tips for riding Agro Halleck (389) Jan 26, 2011
This is amazing Unicorn Lynx (181780) Jul 31, 2007

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The PS2 version of Shadow of the Colossus appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Character

Throughout the game, the main character's appearance continually gets worse from the physical and mental strain of fighting the colossi and from the strain of the dark spirits possessing him. His hair and clothes will gradually get dirtier, and his clothes will eventually tear in numerous places. Also, his face will scar and get paler as the game continues.

Demake

In September 2008 the game was "demade" for the TIGSource Bootleg Demakes competition as Hold me closer, Giant Dancer.

Development

Shadow of the Colossus is known for pushing the PS2 hardware to its limits. For example, SotC features fake HDR (High Dynamic Range) rendering, even though the PS2 hardware doesn't really support HDR.

Another example for this is the the "fur shader" - the colossi are very hairy and are the fur is rendered quite convincingly. The fur also features some simulated anisotropic lighting, giving the fur realistic highlights. Again, the common way to achieve this is not possible on the PS2, but the game developers managed to approximate this.

The game features many other technological achievements. Some are visible such as self-shadowing, and some are behind the scenes, such as the complex memory management system that allows for the huge game world without loading time or memory fragmentation.

Further details can be found in The Making of "Shadow of the Colossus" (5 MB pdf), which includes explanations from the game's developers, and in an analysis by Jonathan Cooper

Extras

The PAL release comes in a cardboard packaging containing four unique postcards with art work depicting moments from the game. It also includes camera interviews with artistic partners and creative directors Fumito Ueda and Kenjj Kaido to get a look behind the scenes, an image gallery with concept sketches and in-game stills, and the original game trailer to ICO.

References

Various philosophical elements are present in the game. For instance, Dormin is reminiscent of the biblical character Nimrod. Nimrod is a biblical king credited for the creation of the Tower of Babel, whose purpose was to build a stairway into the heavens. Before its completion, the builders tongues are mixed up into different languages (which, according to the Bible, justifies the many languages of the Earth). As well, the Tower of Babel is said to be one of the tallest structures on the Earth, and could be seen from all parts of the Earth.

The shrine of worship is completely symbolic of the Tower of Babel. Dormin is meant to represent Nimrod, the builder of the shrine, and if one notices closely, Dormin is an exact anagram of Nimrod. As well, through a secret method the character is able to climb the tower and reach a paradise, symbolic of a Heaven or other after-life paradise (notice that in the story, Mono and Wander are only able to climb to the top of the tower once they are free of Dormin, who represents Sin and evil). The tower is obviously the hugest structure on the map, and can be seen from all parts of the map (if the view is not obstructed) As well, before Dormin can ascend to total power (as if ascending into Heaven), he is split up into 16 parts, thus completing the image of the builders being divided by their changed languages.

References to the game

  • The basic premise of this game (enormous monsters with light-up self-destruct buttons) is riffed on in a Penny Arcade webcomic strip dated October 21st, 2005.
  • Shadow of the Colossus is referenced in the movie Reign over Me (2007) where actor Adam Sandler is addicted to it.

Savegame import

If the player has a saved game from ICO on the memory card in slot 1, Aggro's diamond shaped mark on his head will be replaced with the logo for ICO; a horn/tooth-like shape.

Awards

  • 4Players
    • 2006 – Best Game of the Year
    • 2006 – Best PlayStation 2 Game of the Year
    • 2006 – Best Action-Adventure of the Year
    • 2006 – Most Impressive Boss of the Year (for Colossus 16)
    • 2006 – Best Original Soundtrack of the Year
  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • February 2006 - #192 out of 200 on the "Greatest Games of Their Time" list
  • GameSpy
    • 2005 – #5 PS2 Game of the Year

Information also contributed by Big John WV, Christian Moleman, hribek, Indra was here, Mickey Gabel, Pseudo_Intellectual, Robstein and Sciere

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Terrence Bosky.

PlayStation 3 added by Kabushi.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Sciere, Matt Neuteboom, Namaenashi, Zeppin, DreinIX, Arejarn, hribek, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto, FatherJack.

Game added November 7, 2005. Last modified February 16, 2024.