Agro (アグロ Aguro) is Wander's horse and sole companion through the Forbidden Lands in Shadow of the Colossus.
Story[]
Agro is a very loyal horse to Wander, and it is quickly apparent that the two have been together for a long time. After each colossus is slain, Wander awakens in the central Shrine where Agro is seen galloping in a few seconds later. Agro's speed aids Wander in many battles, either by keeping him from harm (versus the 9th and 10th colossi) or by allowing him to catch up with a fast-moving enemy (13th).
Before the final colossus, Wander must cross a collapsing bridge that he cannot cross quickly enough on his own. He runs across with Agro but, even she falls short just before the end. Agro bucks Wander to safety and falls into the chasm below while Wander watches helplessly. The young man is subsequently forced to finish his quest bereaved of his last living companion.
In the game's epilogue after Dormin and Wander have been consumed by the whirlwind and Mono reawakens within the Shrine, Agro is revealed to be alive, albeit having suffered injury to her hind leg, limping heavily as a result. It is not clear whether Mono recognizes the horse, but she follows her to the stone basin at the back of the Shrine - revealing the horned infant Wander - and onward to the mysterious garden above.
Gender confusion[]
There has been a lot of confusion and debate regarding Agro's gender. Fortunately, Fumito Ueda has confirmed Agro's gender as "a girl" in an interview in the official artbook and guidebook. Many fans still believe Agro is a stallion, due to the mistranslation (where Agro is referred to as male) in a tutorial message.
The remake would change this portion of the tutorial, where it refers to Agro purely by name.
Unlockable skins[]
Agro has a diamond-shaped patch of white fur on her head between her eyes. If there is a save file from ICO on the same memory card when a new game is created, Agro will have an "I"-shaped patch on her head from the ICO logo instead. Unfortunately, there is no way to "upgrade" the marking on Agro to an ICO symbol after a game has been started and saved; the only way to get the "I" marking is to start a brand new game with an ICO save file. There is one exception to this: starting a session of Time Attack with an ICO save file on the same memory card will change Agro's symbol to the "I" (provided the foe is one of the five colossi Agro can make it to), but the symbol will return to the regular design once back at the Shrine of Worship.
Two different colors for Agro can also be unlocked: brown and white. To unlock Brown Agro, all 16 challenges in Time Attack must be cleared. For White Agro, every challenge in Time Attack on both Normal and Hard must be conquered. The player will be notified when they have successfully unlocked both Agro colors, as well as how to access them; to change to Brown Agro (or from brown back to default), hold down at the title screen while selecting Load Game. To change to White Agro (or from white back to default), hold down at the title screen while selecting Load Game.
In addition to its standard release, BluePoint's 2018 remake for Shadow of the Colossus was also released as a special edition which included the "spotted steed" Agro skin and two new items, the Ancient Bow and the Cloak of Fate. This new skin is a brown and white tobiano (see gallery).
The 2018 remake also modified the white diamond on Agro's forehead, making it a whorl instead of a patch. This whorl is present on her original "black" coat, but is absent from the "brown" and "white" skins. The "crested" Agro skin looks much like her original black, save that it has gray feathering, and the whorl has been changed to be a downward-facing ICO horn. The whorl on the "spotted steed" skin has also been changed from the whorl; it is a large patch that originates at the forehead and spans to below the eyes, reaching halfway down the face. The original whorl of the "black" skin looks reminiscent of the whirling clouds above the pillars of light that form over each fallen colossus.
Controls[]
Basic Controls | |
Action | Controls |
---|---|
Mount or dismount | when next to saddle |
Quick mount | (jump towards saddle), when close to saddle |
Speed up | |
Maintain top speed | Hold |
Hold up sword | Hold with sword equipped |
Pet Agro | while stopped and with no weapon equipped |
Advanced Controls / Tricks | |
Action | Controls |
Fast Start | When still, + Left Stick ↓ |
Fast Stop | When moving fast, + Left Stick ↓ |
Quick 180° turn | Perform a Fast Stop, then a Fast Start while Agro slows down |
Stand up while riding | Hold + Left Stick ↑ |
Hang off either side | Hold + + Left Stick ← or → |
Music[]
- Though no theme plays for Agro in-game, the track "Swift Horse" (the internal name being "hope_horse") seems to have been intended for Agro originally. However it will only play in the PAL, PS3 and PS4 versions of the game following the end credits when unlocked modes and the subsequent playthroughs features are revealed. The track named "The Farthest Land" also plays when viewing the roaming Agro cutscenes that play after the player has saved the game on a shrine and stay idle in the main menu for too long.
Trivia[]
- Given that she can run at full speed for large distances, Agro is most likely a thoroughbred horse, built for endurance rather than bursts of short speed. The only confounding factor of this theory is that when measured against the colossi and Wander, she is as tall as real-life draft (heavy) horses.
- A possible reason for Agro's large size could go back to the very start of the game's development. At the time, it was simpler to reuse the character design of ICO's protagonist. Both Ico's and Wander's character models are the same height of 1.25m.
- Agro's top speed is somewhere between 40 and 50 mph.
- If Wander points his bow and arrow at Agro, she will rear up and neigh before galloping away and out of the line of fire. Strangely however, she won't react when hit with the sword, which makes a metallic noise when it strikes her.
- Agro will stop if she comes to a drop that is too big to jump, turn and steer around objects by herself whilst Wander rides her, and will slow down if she is traveling across, for example, a narrow path (such as the natural bridge that leads to the 8th Colossus' lair).
- Agro can be injured by any of the colossi that she has access to (2nd, 4th, 9th, 10th and 13th). When she is damaged, she will hobble briefly before returning to normal with no apparent permanent or long-lasting damage.
- There is a glitch with Agro where if Wander defeats all sixteen colossi in Normal Time Attack, collect all the items, and then die before saving the game, the player won't have any items they had after the last time the game was saved. The colossi must be defeated again to get the items back. If these criteria are met, brown and white Agro will both be available in Normal mode.
- Although many fans believe that Agro suffered a broken leg at the end of the game, it is much more plausible to say that it was only severely sprained, because if the actual bone was broken, the resulting pain would have certainly prevented her from swimming to shore and limping all the way back to the shrine.
- If left alone for a decent amount of time, Agro may wander off to graze or drink nearby. A good example can occur after Wander wakes up following the defeat of any colossus; if Wander does not immediately ride out of the Shrine, Agro will walk into the field nearby to graze. If Wander continues to let her move about, Agro will turn back and reenter the Shrine, coming to stand right beside the altar as she does in the cinematic following the fourth colossus. Although not difficult to trigger, this event requires keeping a good distance from Agro as she may think Wander wishes to mount and will stop roaming.
- Petting Agro increases the recovery speed of Wander's health and stamina for a short period of time.
- Agro's animation was primarily designed by animator Atsuko Fukuyama[1], who also designed the motion of Ico's AI-controlled character Yorda.
- Agro's brown and white skins are taken from the horses that one of the guards and Lord Emon ride to the Forbidden Lands.
- Agro is referenced in "Kingdom Come", as one of the many named horses in the game.
- Agro makes a cameo appearance in Astro Bot.
Gallery[]
The game | ICO ( Demo · Revisions from U.S. version · Ico HD ) | |
Characters | Ico · Yorda · The Queen · Shadows · Shinkan | |
The Castle | Idol Gates · Yorda's language · Saving Benches Altar • Warehouse • Spiral Stairs • Old Bridge • Stairs • Trolley 1 • Trolley 2 • Crane • Chandelier • Drawbridge • Main Gate • Graveyard • Dark Room • Sunbeams • Stone Pillar • East Crag • East Arena • East Idol Stairs • East Reflector • Waterfall • Sluice • Cogwheel • Gondola • Water Tower • West Crag • West Arena • West Idol Stairs • West Reflector • Cage • Pipe • Elevator • Wharf • Queen's Room • Sandy Beach | |
Other Media | Ico ~Melody in the Mist~ · Official Game Guide · Ico: Castle in the Mist |
Characters | Wander · Mono · Agro · Dormin · Lord Emon · Guards · Shadows |
---|---|
Colossi | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV · XVI |
Locations | The Forbidden Lands · Shrine of Worship · Colossus Arenas |
Main Items | Power-ups (Lizards · Fruit) · Weapons (Ancient Sword · Sword of the Sun · Queen’s Sword · Sword of Dormin · Bow & Arrow · Ancient Bow · Harpoon of Thunder · Life Sword) · Collectibles (Relics) |
Gameplay | Hard Mode · Save shrines · Time Attack · Reminiscence Mode · Watermellon · Barrel |
Media | Roar of the Earth (OST) · Official Art and Guide Book · Nico Bonus DVD · Film · Interview Archive |
Releases | OPM Demo · PS2 original · PS3 remaster · PS4 remake · Credits |
Early Builds | Preview version · PSU Preview version · E3 Demo |
Unused Content | Unused Colossi · Colossus Test Stages · Unused Locations · Beta Mountains · Development Timeline of Shadow of the Colossus |