Colossus IV

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Colossus IV
Thy next foe is... In the land of the vast green fields...Rows of guiding graves...It is giant indeed but fearful, it is not.
Profile
Developer Nickname	Kirin (麒麟)
Fan-given Nickname	Phaedra
Height	34.5 m / 113 ft (Real World) 25 m / 82 ft (In-game)
Length	32 m / 105 ft (Real World) 23 m / 75 ft (In-game)
Location	Kirin's Hill (G5)
Designer	Shunpei Suzuki (sz)
Gameplay
Time Attack goals (Normal/ Hard)	5:30/5:00 (Original, PS3) 5:00/6:15 (PS4)
Agro	Yes
Sigils	Normal: 1 major, 1 minor Hard: 3 major, 1 minor

The 4th Colossus, resembling a decayed mythological kirin, is one of sixteen bosses fought in Shadow of the Colossus. It makes its home in a vibrant alcove dotted with a few ruins in quadrant G5 of the map.

Path to the colossus

See also: Map for this path

Shadow of the Colossus - 4th Colossus

Video - 4th Colossus (path to and battle with)

The 4th colossus is one of the easiest colossi to get to. Upon exiting the temple, the sword's light will point roughly southeast to an opening in the cliff walls. The ravine will eventually lead to a verdant alcove. Follow the cliffside path down and hold up the sword again in the sun to find the path to the colossus farther east. Before reaching the colossus, ruins in the grass will be passed: four passages, linked together underground.

Walkthrough

Agro is at Wander's side once more, but much like the battle with the 2nd colossus, she is not a major component of the fight. (This is, however, the last time she will not be needed - the three other colossi she can make her way to may require her speed.) The conspicuous ruins seen earlier do indeed play a part in getting atop the colossus. Stand at the entrance of one of them, get the colossus attention by whistling (or with an arrow or two), and hide from its view when it approaches the entrance. When it's close, head inside the ruins and go to one of the three other exits (preferably the one opposite the one entered, but any will do as long as Wander remains undetected). If done correctly, it will stomp three times, squat down and then attempt to look inside the entrance it last saw Wander go in. There are times, however, when the colossus will turn around, giving the impression that it has seen Wander. Although, if the player stays behind cover, it will turn back and start stomping the ground. Now Wander has a chance. There are two options here:

1. The first is to sneak outside while the colossus is looking in, climb up its small "tail", and go up to its neck. Wander's sword will indicate a place on its neck where he can stab to get the colossus to lower its head, letting the player proceed to its weakspot. Be conscious of stamina.
2. The second is to remain at the entrance the colossus saw Wander go in and quickly jump onto and climb up one of the two rock columns dangling from either side of its head once it looks down. Doing so will take Wander right to its head, but it's much harder to stay balanced on it.

Time Attack times in Original and PS3 versions (Normal, Hard): 5:30, 5:00

Time Attack times in PS4 Remake (Normal, Hard): 5:00, 6:15

Weakspots

Location	Percentage of health
	Normal	Hard
The top of its head	100%	66.7%
Just below its neck, on the left	N/A	16.7%
Just below its neck, on the right	N/A	16.7%
Back of the neck	Used in climbing

Tips and tricks

• It is possible, though difficult, to jump off of Agro and onto a "ledge" on one of the colossus' back legs. When the leg moves down, quickly make a few well-timed jumps without losing balance to get up onto its back. The 4th colossus is considered to be one of the most difficult colossi to defeat in Time Attack; this is a huge time saver if one can pull it off.
• One can also get the 4th colossus' attention while standing on the hills; wait until it's as close as possible and then jump towards the dangling columns on its head. In order to do that, the player should be standing on the highest point of the hill.
  • It's much easier to grab onto the dangling columns if the colossus has its neck lowered after stabbing its weakness twice, as it will stay that way permanently. This is a great way to get back to the head if the player happens to fall from it.

Attacks

Attack	Damage (Normal)	Damage (Hard)	Description	Demonstration
Triple Stomp	40 (Shockwave) 60 (Direct hit)	80 (Shockwave) Instakill (Direct hit)	The colossus will stab the ground with one of its front legs three times. The landing spots are pre-determined and easy to avoid.
Kick	30	60	If Wander tries to climb onto one of its hind legs, it may kick him.

Music

Phase	Plays in	Music
Intro	Plays upon entering the 4th colossus' lair.	Green Hills
Phase 1	Plays once the 4th colossus rises and begins following Wander.	Creeping Shadow
Phase 2	Plays once Wander begins to climb the 4th colossus.	The Opened Way

Trivia

• General
• Earlier versions

General

• The 4th colossus stands at a rough height of 113ft/34.5m, making it the joint second-tallest of all the colossi. The only colossus that stands taller is the 16th, who is almost twice as tall as the 4th's highest point.
• Like the 12th colossus, the 4th colossus possesses a set of skeletal ribs protruding from its underbelly.
• This colossus makes very unusual sounds; when stabbed by Wander, it makes a very high-pitched, almost deer-like whining/yelping sound. The noise is somewhat similar to that made by the 13th colossus when it dies.
• The fight against the 4th colossus is similar to the fight against the 6th; in both instances, Wander must lead the colossus to the entrance of some ruins which he must then hide within. He then has to wait for the colossus to bend/kneel down and peer into the entrance of the ruins in an attempt to find him. By leaning down to search for Wander, the 4th colossus lowers its head, making the two rock columns dangling from either side of its head accessible (in the fight against the 6th colossus, its beard acts as the same point of access), allowing Wander to climb up them and onto the colossus.
• The two rock columns dangling on both sides of its head could be reins, since the 4th colossus is horse-like.
• Dormin's riddle describes the location which houses the 4th colossus as having "rows of guiding graves", yet none can be found. However, it is extremely likely that the ruins in which Wander hides from the colossus is one big tumulus, also known as burial mounds.

Earlier versions

• A Famitsu interview details the 4th colossus' development: "This is the Colossus we called Kirin. Not a giraffe, but a kirin (qilin). This one's sketches were done by me, and I was originally planning to make it the second one to appear. At that time, you had to use the terrain to your advantage and climb up through the hair on its chest. The vital point on its neck was there from the beginning. The ear pieces were set up as a teaching aid for when you fell off the Colossus's body and had to start over."
• The text "マンモスカスタム" written in the 4th colossus' concept art seen in the gallery below, which translates to "mammoth custom", possibly suggests that the 4th colossus was based around the same archetype as that of the 2nd colossus, also known by the original developers as Mammoth.
• According to the 4th colossus' early specification, Wander would lead it to a series of small hills and climb either the beard on its chest or its tail when it walked over them - the dangling pillars in later versions were taken from an early concept for ears belonging to the 12th colossus.
• Ueda's comment about the 4th colossus in a famitsu interview mentions that he initially wanted to make it the 2nd one that the player faces in the game. The specification in the gallery also mentions that it was to be around the 2nd to 5th colossus.
• The 4th colossus' early arena appears in the Production Reel video. The evidence for this was found by a fan named Aith, as he was playing around with the arena's 3D model he noted "On each corner of Phaedra's platform the verticals are arranged in a distinct circular pattern that appears to have been hastily patched." Suggesting that the four pillars seen in the footage were actually for its starting platform.
  • The platform with the pillars can also be seen in the early specification in the gallery.
• This was the 3rd colossus in the E3 Demo. Aside from its chest being covered in fur unlike its final version, it is mostly the same. The music that plays in the battle was 'Grotesque Figures', likely as a placeholder.
• A collision model to test the posture of the 4th colossus was found floating above its arena in the E3 Demo . It is square-shaped with a platform in the middle.
• The shadow model from the 4th colossus found in the Preview version and earlier seems to mirror its beta design, with a different shaped head, a beard and a furry tail.
• In the Preview version of the game, the theme "Revived Power" plays once Wander climbs the colossus.
• According to the data sheets, the 4th colossus had a unique HUD icon, which is an icon in the shape of the colossus that used to show the weakpoint locations in early builds.

Gallery

• Original
• Remake
• Earlier versions

Original

Image of the 4th colossus taken from the official artbook.

Wander and the 4th colossus in the distance.

The 4th colossus getting up.

Wander on the colossus' back.

The 4th colossus viewed from the front.

Wander near its major sigil.

One of the hard mode exclusive sigils.

The 4th colossus leaning over, searching the ruins for Wander.

Front view of the colossus searching for Wander.

The 4th colossus rearing up after not being able to reach Wander.

The 4th colossus sleeping.

The 4th colossus' corpse.

Idol statue of the 4th colossus.

Game over screen of the 4th colossus.

Size chart for the 4th colossus (Credits: Nomad Colossus).

Remake

Full model of the 4th colossus in the remake.

The 4th colossus in Reminiscence Mode as seen in the game's 2018 remake.

The colossus rearing up.

Black blood spraying from a wound in its head.

Agro nearly trampled by the colossus.

The 4th colossus preparing to stab the ground in the remake.

Wander readying his bow to shoot at the 4th colossus.

The neck armor of the 4th colossus in the remake.

The dangling pillars of the 4th colossus in the remake.

Earlier versions

The 4th colossus' early arena shown in the Production Reel video from the Nico bonus DVD.

The 4th colossus in the E3 Demo. Note its chest covered in fur.

The shadow model of the 4th colossus in the Preview version compared to its final release version. Provided by Jaikhay.

Side comparison of the shadow models. Provided by Jaikhay.

Top view comparison of the shadow models. Provided by Jaikhay.

kirin_test_stage.

Boss specification of the 4th colossus taken from the official artbook.

Development sketch of the 4th colossus taken from the Ico & Shadow of the Colossus PS3 Booklet.

Stage specifications of the 4th colossus' early arena, taken from The Last Guardian: An Extraordinary Story official artbook, scanned by user Dzetawmd.

References