Animals

Various animals gather in the secret garden.

All of Team Ico's games feature several different species of animals. They enrich the scenery and are often interactable.

ICO

Horses

The horses in ICO.

Horses can be seen in ICO in the opening cutscene of the game, where the boy is taken by the Shinkan to the Queen's castle. They are black in color, have fur on their hooves, and wear a bridle on their head that has a spike.

Doves

The doves in ICO.

Doves can be considered a part of the game's atmosphere, landing on certain locations when the player is not doing anything. Yorda can chase them around for fun.

Beetle

The beetle.

A rhinoceros beetle can be found in the Sluice stage, on the tree that is needed to complete the secret weapon puzzle.

Geckos

Sketch of the gecko with detailed information about it.

Geckos were planned to be added to the game, as proven by sketches and information from the year 1999 in the Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Booklet. Unlike their use as upgrades in Shadow of the Colossus, Geckos in ICO were planned to be a puzzle element. Specification documents explain that they would avoid light and group up together. Yorda would be afraid of them when in a group, so the player would have to lead her through the light and/or deal with the geckos to progress.

Unlike in Shadow of the Colossus where the tails of some geckos glow cyan, the ICO geckos would glow cyan from their midpoint.

Bats

Sketch of the bat with detailed information about it.

Ueda: "Fish and bats were also things that we wanted to bring out but couldn't"

Fish

Sketch of the fish with detailed information about it.

Shadow of the Colossus

Doves

The dove in Shadow of the Colossus.

Doves are most commonly found on the Shrine of Worship altar, increasing in quantity after every Colossus defeated. The player can grab them and fly for a bit, but they will eventually fly close to the ground, leaving Wander behind.

Kites

The kite.

Kites are one of the most common animals in the game, being focused on the opening, the ending, and in special cutscenes if the player doesn't do anything in the main menu for a time. They choose to follow Wander while he travels through the Ancient Lands, sometimes in packs of three. The player can grab them and fly for a bit, but they will eventually fly close to the ground, leaving Wander behind.

There are certain kites which are bigger than others found in certain places. They can hold Wander for a much longer time.

Geckos

The white-tailed gecko.

Geckos are also one of the most common animals in the game, being in almost every quadrant. They come in two variants, the black-tailed ones which are just scenery and will not increase stamina upon having their tails eaten; and the white-tailed ones which do increase the player's stamina upon having their tails eaten.

Tortoises

The tortoise.

Tortoises are mostly found near ponds, but can also be sometimes found in the deserts. They will move around until the player comes in contact with them, hiding in their shell. They can't be killed until the player shoots them with a Flash Arrow.

Fish

Both fish.

Two types of fish exist in the Ancient Lands, the Bluefish and the Catfish. They are mostly found in the oasis before entering the temple leading down to the 8th colossus' arena, and the lake in the "C3" quadrant. They can be killed with arrows or the Harpoon of Thunder, but don't offer any upgrades.

Bats

The bat.

Bats are only found in the entrances to the 10th colossus' cave. They fly around in packs and will not bother the player in any way.

Gulls

The gull.

Sometimes mistaken for kites, the gulls can be found flying in the background, rarely landing, in areas near the ocean. They can be interactable in the same way as doves and kites.

Horses

Lord Emon with his men and their horses.

Besides the main companion of the protagonist, Agro, a few other horses appear later on in the game, owned by Emon and his men. There are four black horses, one brown horse owned by the guard wearing the Mask of Strength, and one white horse owned by Emon.

Deer

The deer.

The deer only appears in the ending, after Mono and Agro arrive in the secret garden. It can't be encountered in normal gameplay.

Squirrel

The squirrel.

The squirrel only appears in the ending in the secret garden, just like the deer. However, it can only be found in the international (PAL) releases. It can't be encountered in normal gameplay.

Butterflies

The butterfly only appears in the ending, together with the deer and the squirrel; and just like the squirrel, it can only be found in the international (PAL) releases. It can't be encountered in normal gameplay.

In the PS4 Remake, some blue butterflies also appear next to the secret barrel easter egg inside the Forest of Giants cave.

Cow

The cow.

The cow is a scrapped animal created by Kazuhiro Numata to serve as a mount for the heroine in a scrapped second part of the NICO trial movie. It never was added to the actual game once development started, likely due to the story and setting changing from the original version presented in NICO.

Sand crabs

Sheets related to the sand crabs.

The sand crabs are another unused animal from the game. No pictures of them exist, the only information about them is found in the PS3 sheets of the game. Listing the crab body and leg textures.

The Last Guardian

Doves

A dove in The Last Guardian.

Doves are seen flying in multiple places in the world of The Last Guardian. If they fly near Trico, it may get fixated on them, observing their movements.

Geckos

A gecko in The Last Guardian.

Gallery

Render of the animals from the PS4 version of Shadow of the Colossus.