The 8th Colossus, resembling a gigantic gecko, is one of sixteen bosses fought in Shadow of the Colossus. This wall-climbing colossus can be found in a tall, narrow arena located in quadrant G6.
Path to the colossus[]
- See also: Map for this path
The sword will direct the player southeast to a ravine. When the path branches, head left and look for a cave entrance. This passage leads to an area inside the cliffs filled with greenery and a waterfall. Be cautious to not jump here and fall; Wander won't walk off one of the ledges, but will leap. Head east from here along the path to find a temple surrounded by a ring of water. Wander will have to part ways with Agro here. Inside the temple, there will be a ridged pillar to climb up to get to the other side of the room. The hallway beyond leads to the arena.
Walkthrough[]
The colossus is initially unaware of the player; use this time to become familiar with the arena. There are many staircases connecting its many tiers; go to the highest one. Once there, equip the bow and whistle to get the colossus' attention. Once done, quickly run to the other side of the arena while the colossus climbs up the walls. Its legs look suspicious, like the bottom of the 2nd colossus' hooves. Shoot any of them with an arrow and the colossus will recoil that leg from the wall. Shoot any other leg and the colossus will fall to the bottom of the arena, exposing its two weakspots on its ventral side. The higher the colossus was when it fell, the longer it will take to right itself. If any part of this does not go according to plan, watch out, as this colossus carries a particularly vicious attack: It can launch electric projectiles that will leave a cloud of poison gas on impact, rapidly draining Wander's health as long as he remains in the impact radius. Get out of sight and recover, and when ready, go back up to the top of the arena and get its attention again.
- Time Attack times in Original and PS3 versions (Normal, Hard): 8:00, 7:30
- Time Attack times in PS4 Remake (Normal, Hard): 6:00, 7:00
Weakspots[]
| Location | Percentage of health | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Hard | |
| On its belly, between its front legs | 50% | 50% |
| On its belly, between its back legs | 50% | 50% |
| On each ankle (4) | Makes it lose its grip | |
Tips and tricks[]
- If one has difficulty aiming for the legs to make the colossus fall, then aiming for the belly is an alternative to consider. Three shots are required to make this work instead of the usual two.
- It is also possible for Wander to climb to the topmost layer, get its attention, and then go down a few layers and shoot at its legs. That way, it gets stunned for a long time and the player loses little health.
- After shooting the colossus down and it's lying on its back, one can jump from any layer and hold the grab button to latch onto its belly. If done correctly, it allows Wander to get to it quickly with no damage taken.
- Another way to save health is to shoot its legs and while jumping down, grab onto the lowest ridge sticking out of the wall. Letting go from here slows Wander enough so that he takes almost no damage.
- While the colossus is "charging" its attack, Wander can use his bow to hit its head. This makes the colossus temporarily shake it around, apparently disoriented, which causes it to shoot its projectiles randomly and not directly towards Wander. If timed correctly, this can be very useful if running away is not an option. Using the Harpoon of Thunder on Hard Mode will increase the time the colossus shakes its head, thus making it more effective than using the bow.
Attacks[]
| Attack | Damage (Normal) | Damage (Hard) | Description | Demonstration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charged Breath | 0.8+ (Gas) 3 (Direct hit) |
1.6+ (Gas) 10 (Direct hit) |
The colossus will take a few moments to charge its breath attack, then launch its blasts wildly in various directions. Avoid the toxic clouds at all cost. | 
|
| Pulse Breath | 0.8+ (Gas) 3 (Direct hit) |
1.6+ (Gas) 10 (Direct hit) |
Whenever it is at a window, it will spit singular blasts of toxic breath with barely any charge time. Do not stand next to the windows when the colossus is near. | 
|
| Tail Swipe | 40 | 100 | If Wander stands near its tail, it will perform a swipe attack that will launch him flying. Avoid fighting it on the ground. | 
|
Music[]
| Phase | Plays in | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Battle | Plays once the battle starts. | Black Blood |
| Phase 1 | Plays once the colossus becomes aware of Wander's presence. | Liberated Guardian |
| Phase 2 | Plays after the colossus falls on its back. | A Despair-filled Farewell |
Development History[]
This colossus was created near the start of the game's development in 2003, and it used to be tested in Stage 9. Its nickname during development was 'Yamori' (gecko), as well as 'Yamori B'.[1]
Yamori[]
- Main article: Yamori (unused)
Yamori. The HUD suggests that it is around the same time of development as the screenshots of Saru and Griffin.
Yamori used to be very different from the one encountered in the final game. It used to be nearly the size of the 9th colossus, had a differently-patterned design, and its test stage used to be known as 'Sluice', instead of 'Underground'. Its battle strategy had to do with the angle that it was stuck to the wall,[1] and the skeleton of the final 8th colossus includes some bones that do not serve any purpose and don't fit its current body, such as having a bone for a fourth toe behind each paw and several bones on top of its back named "UROKO (scale)", resembling the parts on top of its earliest design. It also reveals that it used to have four weakpoints throughout its body.
The PS3 Data Sheets lists a HUD icon for it. HUD icons are an icon in the shape of the colossus that used to show the weakpoint locations in early builds.
Yamori B / Revision[]
Early design sketch for Yamori B. Its stomach is covered in fur and its mouth resembles that of its final version.
Near the end of 2003 and at the start of 2004, there was a decision to remake the Yamori boss from scratch. This version of the boss is referred to as Yamori B, Yamori2, and Yamori Revision in the files. The overall size of the boss was likely changed at this point, being reduced by 80%. The Stage was also replaced with Underground during this time.
The other gecko colossus, Yamori A.
After the creation of Yamori B, it was decided to have another gecko boss in addition to this one. As such, the Sluice stage name was used for Stage 11, and 'Yamori A' was created. The name likely refers to the fact that the boss was easier overall when compared to Yamori B. Yamori A's battle involved it chasing the player while they were climbing up the wall, and the strategy was to defeat it by clinging to its back with a back jump.[1]
The boss_zou entry in the BossStatus data sheet from the E3 Demo suggests that Yamori B used to be the 19th colossus at some point in development around the 2004 era.
E3 Demo[]
- Main article: Shadow of the Colossus (E3 Demo)#VIII
The 8th colossus in the E3 Demo.
In the version of the game from May 11th 2005 (known as the E3 Demo), Yamori B, now the 8th colossus, still had several differences from its final release fight. One difference of note is the difficulty, being one of the hardest fights in that version. The reason for the difficulty may have to do with its earlier battle order - being the 19th.
Breath attack of the E3 Demo version.
Its textures were brighter and its tail was similar in shape to the artbook screenshot of Yamori A's early design. The colossus was much faster, and its breath attack had the ability to blast Wander away dealing damage, in addition to leaving poisonous gas. The effect of the breath attack was also different, being colored blue and leaving no electricity on the gas cloud. The animation of Wander covering his face wasn't implemented by this point yet, making it harder to tell which spots are dangerous if the player is not attentive enough of their health bar. The bars on the windows of the arena were closed in this version, as Wander did not have the ability to roll yet. This made it so the player had to jump off from the broken parts of the stage instead.
The quick spit attack.
The boss also had an extra attack if Wander stood in front of it: the colossus will launch a single breath ball with no charging time at the ground, causing Wander to stumble backwards and leaving gas. The attack did 0.5 tic damage, and 30 damage on direct hit.
The drip texture.
The colossus also had a unused effect tied to the footmarks that was left in the files. The effect was called "ymr_footmark_drip.npe", and its texture was that of a dripping black liquid. The effect used to stretch the texture slowly and then dissolve it, but was removed from the animation which sets the footmark to be left by its paws while it walks, as well as the effect itself being changed so it no longer appears, as it was mapped to the transparent parts of the texture.
The one frame of the cutscene.
Underground also had a placeholder introduction cutscene with only one frame, but it can't be played normally without editing the collision model to include the starting flag. The song which was set to play for this cutscene was A Pursuer (known as 'forest' internally).
After this version, the elements mentioned above were removed.
Trivia[]
- This is the first of four colossi that uses a ranged attack. Its attack amongst these four, however, is unique in that it is the only long-range attacker whose projectiles leave a cloud of damaging gas that lingers for quite some time. This gas covers a fairly large area and can drain Wander's health quickly if he remains in it for long.
- This is the only colossus capable of scaling walls during its fight.
- This is the third-smallest colossus after the 11th and 14th colossi. The two same pieces of music, "Liberated Guardian" and "A Despair-filled Farewell", play whilst fighting all three colossi.
- Many people have found a way to jump onto the 8th colossus' belly while it's climbing up. This is not recommended, however, as it is not only difficult to perform but very glitchy if Wander holds on too long (such as being launched miles into the air or being turned invisible with clipping).
- The 8th colossus shares some similarities with the colossus that immediately follows it: the 9th. Both the 8th and 9th colossi, while being two of the seven quadrupedal colossi, are the only two whose legs extend out to the sides of the their bodies rather than directly downwards, as is the case with all the other quadrupeds. This gives them both a distinctly lizard-like gait and makes them appear more reptilian. Both have to be attacked around the legs in order to tip them over to gain access to their weakpoint sigils, both use long range projectile attacks, and each are viewed as being highly aggressive. Finally, both have heavily-armored and ridged backs.
- The 8th colossus makes a lot of hissing and seething bellows while it's fighting.
- Out of all 16 colossi, the 8th colossus has the shortest death sequence of all, roughly only seven seconds long.
- From the location in which it is fought, this is one of three battles that the player is unable to see the pillars of light that the fallen bodies of other colossi emit, with the other two being the 6th and 10th colossi.
- The fight with the 8th colossus is the only battle wherein Wander will cover his face. When Wander is in the poisonous gas that the colossus fires, he puts his arm over his mouth.
- The trees outside of the 8th colossus' lair have the same texture as some colossi's skin, especially the 6th's; both are bluish with dark spots.
- When the 8th colossus walks, it leaves burn-like marks into the ground.
- In the PS4 Remaster, there is a trophy that can be obtained for killing the 8th colossus before it can flip back on its feet for the first time.
- Dormin's introduction line for the 8th colossus reads as "A tail trapped within a pail deep within a forest". Yet its lair in the final game is not actually located near any forests, making Dormin's line curious.
Gallery[]
Original[]
Remake[]
E3 Demo[]
Earlier versions[]
| The game | ICO ( Demo • Revisions from U.S. version • Ico HD ) | |
| Characters | Ico • Yorda • The Queen • Shadows • Shinkan | |
| The Castle | Altar • Warehouse • Spiral Stairs • Old Bridge • Stairs • Trolley 1 • Trolley 2 • Crane • Chandelier • Drawbridge • Main Gate • Graveyard • Dark Room • Windmill • 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 | |
| Items | Stick • Sword • Queen's Sword • Mace • Light Saber | |
| Miscellaneous | Idol Gates • Runic language • Sofas • ICO Stages | |
| Unused Content | Castle Soldiers • Unused Locations (Dynamite Room) • Unused Objects | |
| Other Media | Credits • Ico ~Melody in the Mist~ • Official Game Guide • Ico: Castle in the Mist • Development Timeline of ICO • Interview Archive | |
 Walkthrough | |
|---|---|
| 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 Ancient 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 · Watermelon · 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 |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:FamitsuNicknameInterview.png | December 2nd, 2005 Famitsu - The Colossi Nicknames (1st to 10th Colossus)