Shadow of the Colossus is the story of a hero looking for a way to bring back a dead loved one. His journey brings him to a forgotten realm at the edge of the world. As he lays the body on the ancient temple’s altar, he hears a disembodied voice telling him that the only way to achieve his goal is to topple the 17 idols that line the hall our hero is standing in. But the task is harder than it sounds since these giant statues are impervious to mortal attacks.
Instead, you must seek out each of the idols’ guardians (the Colossi) and defeat them, and only once all of the statues have fallen will the voice be able to bring back the dead loved one. Now, with your trusty steed Agro, a magical sword, and a bow, you will travel the 2,000 square mile world looking for these giants and trying to defeat them any way you can.
So how can a little fighter possibly take down these monsters? Well, when you hold up your sword in the sunlight, the beams of light focus on where your next target is. That’s how you find your next enemy. After you’ve actually gotten to the Colossus’ playground (which can be a series of puzzles all on its own), you raise your sword again to reveal the monster’s magical weak spots. You then need to climb onto the giant and work your way to these locations and send a powerful jab into the glowing area. Each hit takes down a substantial portion of the enemy’s health, but after a while these critical attack points will deaden and you will have to find another safe search point in order to make the next target appear.
But getting onto (and staying on) the Colossus isn’t as easy as just sticking out your thumb and hitching a ride. With a few exceptions, you will have to drop the monster to its knees or cause it to show its soft underbelly or perform some other task before you can even grab onto a climbable surface. This is where your horse and bow can come in handy. Not only does Agro allow you to travel across the vast land, but he can also provide you with a fast means of following your foe as you shoot your bow at some point that will make it easier to grapple on.
Once on the giant, you will have to work your way to various safe ledges where you don’t have to physically hold on. Why you might ask? Because the longer you hold onto the side of something (be it wall or beast), the more your strength lessens. Eventually, if you hold on too long, you will fall back to the ground and most likely get trampled. As an added effect, as you annoy the beast (especially when you start making your way to the creature’s head), they will start shaking and trying to throw you off. It’s all about timing and positioning because most likely you will lose your grip and you want to make sure you land somewhere on the beast’s body that won’t force you to start all over again.
Since Shadow of the Colossus features only a handful of enemies, and each of those are essentially a boss – it is no wonder that each Colossus is radically different from the next and the tactics you must use to defeat them are different. You will face smaller, faster beasts that are harder to catch up to, slow giants the size of a mountain that barely notice your presence, and four-legged beasts that can’t easily be climbed. Other challenges include getting onto Colossi that fly or swim, or even trying to get past the enemy’s armor as they swing giant stone swords down upon you.
Each battle is fierce and will get your heart pumping in just the normal play, but just when you think it’s almost over, you unlock Time Attack mode, which essentially challenges you to play through it all again with a time limit pressing down upon you.
