History VideoGame / ShadowOfTheColossus

* GuideDangIt: Of the various Colossi in the game, Cenobia is the one the most likely to get players stuck over how they're suppose to beat it. Dormin's hints can misinterpretated thanks to the various setpieces in its boss arena, and even if the player figures out the first stage of the fight, figuring out [[spoiler: how to remove its armor]] can still trip people up.

* StopTheHeroTwist: Wander follows the instructions of an unseen voice telling him to slay the sixteen Colossi roaming the lands. He's told that doing so would bring his loved one back to life. As the game progresses, we see there is a group of priests who are traveling to the land, and Wander eventually discovers that each Colossus was a living seal keeping the evil Dormin sealed away. Defeating the final Colossus results in Dormin breaking loose and possessing Wander's body just after the priests arrive to warn him of what he was doing. From there, Dormin eventually gets sealed back in, and Mono awakens to find a little baby with horns nearby.

* StopTheHeroTwist: Wander follows the instructions of an unseen voice telling him to slay the thirteen Colossi roaming the lands. He's told that doing so would bring his loved one back to life. As the game progresses, we see there is a group of priests who are traveling to the land, and Wander eventually discovers that each Colossus was a living seal keeping the evil Dormin sealed away. Defeating the final Colossus results in Dormin breaking loose and possessing Wander's body just after the priests arrive to warn him of what he was doing. From there, Dormin eventually gets sealed back in, and the girl awakens to find a little baby with horns nearby.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: It can be very easy for the player to fall into a sense of doubt and unease in their actions of killing the colossi as time goes on, especially when Wander is becomes completely possessed by Dormin at the end.

* MenuTimeLockout: After beating Time Attack Mode, you get goodies which an be accessed in the pause menu. At any point during the game, you can switch between them instantly.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teeyOWD1P_o "dam"]]. No one knows why it is there or what it would have been for. It does not even have collision data (meaning you cannot stand on it), and it is only accessible through hacking and a lot of patience.

* FilkSong: [[https://youtu.be/D0ihPazjoy4 Giants Fall]], courtesy of Music/MiracleOfSound

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvpcwR7Omdg "dam"]]. No one knows why it is there or what it would have been for. It does not even have collision data (meaning you cannot stand on it), and it is only accessible through hacking and a lot of patience.

A movie based on the game was announced years ago, but it currently sits in DevelopmentHell. On one hand, it has plenty of potential for SceneryPorn and a compelling plot; on the other hand, how do you adapt [[PuzzleBoss what amounts to a puzzle game writ large]]? While [[Film/StreetFighterTheLegendOfChunLi Justin Marks]] had the initial credit for the film's screenplay, the studio ended up [[http://www.siliconera.com/2012/05/23/shadow-of-the-colossus-live-action-film-moving-forward-with-chronicle-director/ replacing him with Josh Trank]], the director of ''Film/{{Chronicle}}''.

Although the Colossi go unnamed within the game itself, several sites claimed that WordOfGod released a name list for them. Please see [[Characters/ShadowOfTheColossus the characters page]] for more details.

** In the Gaius fight, you're normally supposed to have it smack it's sword against the iron plate in the arena to knock off its wrist guard so you can climb up. If you have good timing, though, it's possible to jump off his sword when he raises it back up and get over the wrist guard or onto his and or belly, allowing you to climb up without having to break the wrist guard.

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** The PS4 version adds a manual save from the pause menu, but BE FOREWARNED: this will only start you from the closest Save Shrine '''that you have activated''' to your location at the time of the save, despite what you'll hear in some Let's Plays. This means that if you haven't activated any Save Shrines, you travel a great distance to a Colossus, save and quit, it's back to the Shrine of Worship with you.

%% Don't add And The Fandom Rejoiced. It's a SugarWiki page.

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* ShoutOut: When Argus first appears in the destroyed city, the first we see is one hand gripping the ledge, and then the other, before the Colossus brings its head up, roars, and mounts the ledge. This intro was first seen in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' for the Ice Titan, a similarly huge creature.

* YouBastard: Many players [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone feel sorry for the Colossi]], some to the point of not wanting to finish the game. Like games that deal with similar themes like ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', ''SpecOpsTheLine'' and ''VideoGame/NieR'', much of the horrible stuff that happens could end if the player ''stopped playing the game''.

** The PS4 version adds a manual save from the pause menu, but BE FOREWARNED: this will only start you from the closest Save Shrine to your location at the time of the save, despite what you'll hear in some Let's Plays. This means that if you haven't activated any Save Shrines, you travel a great distance to a Colossus, save and quit, it's back to the Shrine of Worship with you.

** [[spoiler: The [[InfinityPlusOneSword Sword of Dormin]] in the PS4 remake, found in a secret area underneath the Shrine of Worship. It is by far the most powerful weapon in the game, one-shotting early Colossi like Valus, but [[BlessedWithSuck significantly reduces health regen]]. However, you only unlock it [[CollectionSidequest once you find all 79 Enlightenments]], some of which are in places you can't get to [[NewGamePlus on your first playthrough]]. So it's likely that by the time you finally get the Sword, you will already have max stamina, making the thing overkill. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking You don't even get a trophy for it!]] At least the Sword looks [[TheSacredDarkness really cool]], though.]]

* CollectionSidequest: [[spoiler: The PS4 remake added one involving 79 Enlightenments, coin-like objects hidden in various locations across the Forbidden Land. They're usually in hard-to-get places that require some climbing, or falling, to get to, and some of them you definitely won't be able to reach on your first playthrough. [[GuideDangIt There's no way to mark them on the map, and the counter showing how much you have is in the lower left-hand corner of the map instead of in the Stats screen.]] The only hint you have is your controller will make a strange sound if you're near one. Your prize for getting all 79 is the Sword of Dormin, [[InfinityPlusOneSword the most powerful weapon in the game]], [[BlessedWithSuck but at at the cost of reduced health regen]].]]

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: For whatever reason, the control scheme of the PS4 remake of the game has been completely revamped. For anyone who's coming from the older versions of the game, this can be quite jarring and lead to a few unintentional deaths. There is an option to change to the original control scheme, thankfully.

* EmpathicEnvironment: It's raining and thundering while [[spoiler:you fight the last Colossus, likely to highlight the tragic finale of your battles while you also lost Agro to get there]]. In the PS4 remake, it starts to rain and thunder immediately after [[spoiler:you lose Agro.]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The PGW 2017 trailer for the PS4 remake apparently assumes that everybody's played the original game and thus completely spoils how to beat the 13th colossus.

* EverythingFades: The game averts this with the Colossi. Once you have killed a Colossus, the creature's body will turn to stone and lie exactly where it fell for the rest of the game. You can go back to their arenas later and look at the remains, too.

A young man named Wander enters a forbidden land on horseback, carrying with him the corpse of a girl named Mono and a stolen sword. He travels to the Shrine of Worship in search of Dormin, a mysterious god-like being believed to have the power to control the dead. Wander's arrival at the Shrine awakens Dormin; the deity's disembodied voice confirms Dormin can revive Mono...but warns Wander that he will pay a terrible price in return. Dormin instructs Wander to seek out and kill sixteen Colossi spread throughout the forbidden land; only after all sixteen of the giants have fallen will Dormin resurrect Mono.

* BossBattle[=/=]BossGame: The game has no wild monsters to get in the way, no sub-bosses or side quests to slow you down, no weapons or equipment to find or levels to grind--only 16 Colossi scattered across miles of SceneryPorn and a sword which points in their general direction.

* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: You have to kill each Colossus to proceed, and each time you kill one, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone it cries out in pain]]. You drive the 11th Colossus over an edge ''out of fear'' of you scorching it with a torch. How it cowers is especially pitiful.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/6/8/ This]] ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' commentary describes most poetically the ''"emotional ravaging"'' that this game will put you through.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/6/8/ This]] PennyArcade commentary describes most poetically the ''"emotional ravaging"'' that this game will put you through.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: During Colossi battles, Wander can survive falls from great heights that would instantly kill him outside of battle.