Colossus XIII

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Colossus XIII
Thy next foe is...The vast desert lands...A giant trail drifts through the sky...Thou art not alone.
Profile
Developer Nickname	Snake (蛇)
Width	70 m / 230 ft (Real World) 50 m / 164 ft (In-game)
Length	200 m / 656 ft (Real World) 145 m / 475 ft (In-game)
Location	Desert (E6)
Designer	Hitoshi Niwa (hn)
Gameplay
Time Attack goals (Normal/ Hard)	12:00/13:00 (Original, PS3) 12:00/10:15 (PS4)
Agro	Yes
Sigils	Normal: 3 major Hard: 3 major

The 13th Colossus is one of sixteen bosses fought in Shadow of the Colossus. Located in the middle of a large desert at quadrant E6. Despite its massive appearance, it is completely docile and will in no way deliberately assault Wander.

By far the largest colossus in the game, it is over twice the length of the 7th and 10th colossi. To put its sheer size into perspective, each of its wings are over 60ft long, with the rear-half of the colossus' back matching the width of a four-lane highway.

However, despite this, the 13th is also the most peaceful of all the colossi that Wander fights. It does not try to attack him regardless of what he does. It does not even pay him any mind unless Wander climbs onto its back.

Path to the colossus

See also: Map for this path

Shadow of the Colossus - 13th Colossus 1 2

Video - Path to the 13th Colossus

The 13th colossus is located in a great desert to the southwest of the Shrine of Worship. Proceed south past the mountain where the 1st colossus dwelt until the Southern Plains have been reached. Turn west and continue until the terrain turns into a desert. Cross the platform to awaken the 13th colossus. Another way is that the player can proceed to the west and through the Autumn Forest to come out to the desert quicker and closer to the platform.

Walkthrough

Shadow of the Colossus - 13th Colossus 2 2

Video - Battle with Phalanx

Unlike the 5th colossus, which keeps airborne by flapping its massive wings, the 13th colossus uses its small wings to merely steer itself. Its gigantic bulk is kept aloft by three series of gas bladders located at its front, middle, and posterior.

The colossus will remain airborne, circling its desert home, until Wander brings it down. Aim the bow at one of the gas bladders and pull back until the charge meter is completely filled, which will ensure that the arrow flies faster at the target. Lead the target very slightly and release the arrow. If a sac is hit, it will deflate and turn a dim color. Once all three have been pierced, the colossus will no longer be able to remain high in the sky and will swoop down low to the ground. Even at its slowest, the colossus is still far too fast to reach on foot. Agro may help to chase it down.

Its four front wings will be lowered such that they skim the surface of the desert. Ride up next to one and jump off of Agro's back. The ridges in the wings can be climbed like a wall. Eventually, the colossus will recover and rise back into the air so Wander can jump the gap over onto its back and then run along the length of its body until reaching a raised dorsal ridge. There are three located along its length, and there is a sigil located under each. Stab the sigil with fully-charged sword strikes.

During this time, the colossus will try to shake the nuisance off its back. It will squirm whenever the sigil is struck, perform a barrel roll, and even dive into the desert when these two moves fail to dislodge Wander. The signal that the third is about to occur is when the flap closes down upon the sigil. When it dives into the desert sands, simply jump off to reduce the amount of damage taken.

After a moment, the 13th colossus will burst from the sand, its gas bladders healed. Repeat the procedure until it is brought down for good.

Time Attack times (Normal, Hard): 12:00, 13:00

Time Attack times in PS4 Remake (Normal, Hard): 12:00, 10:15

Weakspots

Location	Percentage of health
	Normal	Hard
On top, under the front fin	33.3%	33.3%
On top, under the middle fin	33.3%	33.3%
On top, under the back fin	33.3%	33.3%
Gas bladders (3)	Used in climbing

Tips & tricks

• Regardless of the difficulty setting, the player can, with a bit of skill and good timing, destroy two if not all three of the sigils located on the colossus in a single run. There are two methods, and one involves pure speed. The other one will be explained here:
  1. Shoot all three sacs and climb the colossus as normal.
  2. Once on the colossus' back, make your way to the first sigil. Here you want to do one fully-charged stab and one 90% stab (two full stabs and one 75% stab on hard). You can see how much damage your stab will do by looking at the grip meter. A 90% stab is just before the charge reaches max power.
  3. If done correctly, you will have done the necessary damage to that sigil (one third of max health), while preventing the colossus from barrel rolling.
  4. Repeat the same process on the rest of the sigils and you should have successfully defeated the colossus in one run.
• Utilize the environment. Unlike some colossi, the 13th is in a wide, generally flat expanse of sandy terrain complete with windswept sand and sunlight reflecting rather brightly. This is useful since Wander's sword gathers light and focuses it in the general direction of a colossus' sigils. This is most useful against the 13th colossus because it not only eliminates all the glare, but, when it is underground, can be used to track the colossus down. Riding after the colossus, the player will note that eventually Agro will be able to stand just over the point where the sword focuses the light.
  1. Also, while not as accurate as the sword, holding down the trigger will make Wander automatically look at the colossus. This is useful because the player can still move and use the bow while still looking directly at it.
  2. Back up. The 13th colossus will eventually burst out of this spot, notably damaging Wander if he is struck, but also revealing the freshly reformed air bladders. Practically at eye level and moving at their slowest, this is the perfect time to simply puncture them one after the other. The result is that the colossus will drop its wings as soon as it is out of the ground, removing the need to chase it and compensating for any previously lost time.

Attacks

Attack	Damage (Normal)	Damage (Hard)	Description	Demonstration
Burrow	10+	20+	Although it may not be considered an attack, the player still suffers damage when it occurs. After a while, the colossus will begin to burrow underground, get off of it before colliding.

Music

Phase	Plays in	Music
Phase 1	Plays while the colossus flies around the desert.	Silence
Phase 2	Plays after all three gas bladders have been shot and it lowers its front wings to the ground.	In Awe of the Power
Phase 3	Plays once the colossus raises its wings back up and Wander has climbed up onto its back.	Counterattack

Development History

This colossus was created at the start of the game's development in May 2003, and it used to be tested in Stage 5 before being placed on the world map. Its nickname during development was 'Snake'.

Snake A

Footage of Snake A taken from the Production Reel featured in the Nico bonus DVD.

The first model of Snake (Snake A) existed during the first development period of the game, when the player character had horns and a helmet. A few sketches seen in the gallery resemble it a as well, but it's unknown what its head looked like as it isn't shown. This version came in and out of the sand, flying and burrowing itself seemingly most of the time. It likely did not have a complex strategy, or had no strategy whatsoever, as it was such an early boss.

Snake B

Screenshot of Snake B taken from the artbook.

Later in 2003, in the period where the player character still had horns but lost the helmet, Snake received a redesign, with its model now being named 'Snake B'. This version was more agressive-looking, with red marks and with a head resembling that of its final version, though cruder.

Textures segments of 'snake_himo'.

The fins of this model had a tendon muscle string that needed to be cut using the player's sword, which can be seen in the Production Reel footage and in a sketch. Various texture segments for 'himo' (string) are listed in the data sheets, and were likely parts of the one seen in the clip.

Clips of Snake B. The rings can be seen in the first clip, and the muscle string can be seen being cut in the second.

The ringed structures on the Desert were added around this point, which were structures taken directly from the Queen's Castle from ICO. Nanako Ohmura, the environment artist behind the test stage of Snake, also worked on the environment of ICO, and most likely initially used the ringed structures temporarily. However, they ended up remaining there until the end of development.

The HUD icon of Snake.

As seen in early footage and listed in the data sheets, Snake B 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.

Snake C

Short clip of Snake C's early model.

At the start of 2004, in the period where the first world map was being developed, Snake received yet another redesign, with its model now being named 'Snake C'. This version was barely seen in the Production Reel footage, with only a small part of the boss being seen. It had more ruins on top of its model, and its marks were changed from red to orange.

Snake's collision model from Athretic.

A collision model Snake was found in the Athretic Test Stage. It has the same three protrusions from the version in the clip on its rear, but lacks the ruins seen in that model. This model has weapoints in different locations from its later versions, and the one in the middle appears to match the location of tendon seen in its previous Snake B design clip. Models for the flaps are placed next to it, likely indicating this is a test for a transitional model between the previous one and the next.

Footage of a more developed early Snake C.

Sometime later in 2004, the boss would be placed on the proper seamless world map, with its Desert arena being placed on quadrant E6. Its design would also change once again. The ruins and markings were removed, and the size of the boss was reduced. It had centipede legs underneath, with electrical weakpoints between them.

The boss_zou entry in the BossStatus data sheet from the E3 Demo suggests that Snake used to be the 16th colossus at some point in development around the 2004 era.

After the world map was reduced at the end of 2004, the boss' 'Snake C' textures were changed (seemingly) back to 'Snake A' textures, the centipede legs were removed, and the electric weakpoints were replaced with air sacs.

E3 Demo

Main article: Shadow of the Colossus (E3 Demo)#VII

Snake in E3.

In the version of the game from May 11th 2005 (known as the E3 Demo), Snake, now the 7th colossus, had some differences.

The colossus' flaps had no skin and its fur was colored gray. The battle themes that played were In Awe of the Power while Wander was on the ground, and Counterattack while on top of it. The theme Silence only played while the colossus was underground.

The strategy was somewhat different. As soon as the health of one of its sigils was depleted, the flap would close immediately. It would also not do a barrel roll at any point. The period in which you could fly on top of the colossus was timed just like on the Eel's fight, meaning the player could easily take out all three sigils in a single cycle.

The one frame of the cutscene.

Desert 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 Wilderness (known as 'desert' internally).

Its appearance and music would change by the Preview version, where it also became the 13th colossus. The cutscene would also be removed. However, its strategy would only change on the retail version.

Trivia

• This is the third of three limbless, serpentine colossi the player faces over the course of the game, the other two being the 7th and 10th colossi.
• This is one of the two colossi that can fly.
• This is the only colossus that will never attack Wander or Agro, making it the most serene of all the colossi. Interestingly, the second most peaceful colossus is the only other one that can fly, the 5th.
• Along with the 10th colossus, the 13th is the only colossus that can be called subterranean, as they both burrow beneath sand.
• This is the longest of all the colossi.
• This is one of the three colossi that require the player to use Agro in order to defeat it, and one of only five that Agro is actually capable of reaching.
• This is the only colossus that is able to conceal and protect its major sigils by covering it with a folding flap of skin.
• The 13th colossus has possibly the most unique vocal sounds of all the colossi; while it makes the usual deep bellowing sounds that all the colossi make, during its introductory and death sequences, it makes an unusual high-pitched wailing sound.
• The 13th colossus has the longest death sequence of all the colossi; it lasts roughly 26 seconds.
• The 13th colossus has three eyes: One on its right side and two on its left. This can be seen clearly in the screenshots below.
• This is one of only two colossi who has three major sigils in Normal Mode. The 5th is the other. The 7th and 16th colossi each have three minor sigils, but not three major.
• If the player is in the right spot and the arrow is aimed in the correct place while riding towards the desert, the screen will show a single frame of the 13th colossus bursting out of the ground thanks to a glitch.
• The 13th colossus' Hard Time Attack goal is the biggest change among all the other Hard Time Attack goals, with a decrease of 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
• Agro can get stuck on one of the 13th colossus' skin flaps and be taken into the air if the colossus is beneath Agro while emerging from the sand.
• The 13th colossus' idol texture features a wing not seen on the model, possibly cut due to the idol housing added late in development causing clipping issues with said wing.
• An early sketch of a colossus called "Snake" was first thought to have belonged to the 7th colossus or another type of it. However, besides the obvious which is the name being the 13th colossus' developer-given name, the textures of the 13th colossus have textures named "uroko" (fish scales). There's also a text in the sketch which reads as "more like an eel?", seemingly being made that way unintentionally.

Gallery

• Original
• Remake
• Earlier versions

Original

Image of the 13th colossus taken from the official artbook.

Wander chasing the 13th colossus, almost ready to jump.

Wander and the 13th colossus.

Wander on the 13th colossus' back mid-flight.

The 13th colossus barrel rolling.

Wander chasing down the 13th colossus.

The 13th colossus erupting from the sand.

Wander hanging onto the colossus' front right wing.

Left side of the 13th colossus' head. Notice the two eyes.

Wander near a major sigil; notice the flap of skin.

The 13th colossus' corpse.

Idol statue of the 13th colossus.

Texture of the 13th colossus' idol statue, featuring a wing not present on the model.

Game over screen of the 13th colossus.

Size chart of the 13th colossus (Credits: Nomad Colossus).

Remake

Full model of the 13th colossus in the remake.

The 13th colossus in the remake.

The 13th colossus flying in the remake.

Another angle.

Wander on the 13th colossus' back in the remake.

Another angle.

Earlier versions

Footage of the first model of the 13th colossus (Snake A) taken from the Production Reel featured in the Nico bonus DVD.

Screenshot of the second model of the 13th colossus (Snake B) taken from the artbook.

Footage of the battle against the second model of the 13th colossus.

Short clip of a glimpse at the third model (Snake C Ver. 1) of the 13th colossus.

Footage of a more developed early 13th colossus (Snake C Ver. 2) battle.

Shot of one of the weakpoints from the more developed model.

Another screenshot of the further developed earlier model of the 13th colossus.

Another angle of the earlier model of the 13th colossus.

Yet another angle.

Another screenshot of the more developed earlier model of the 13th colossus.

A screenshot of the same model showing the electric underside.

Closer look at the underside.

The 13th colossus in the E3 Demo.

Death model of the 13th colossus in the E3 Demo compared with its actual model. It shows its earlier incarnation when it lacked the air sacks and had small tentacles instead.

Another comparison of the death model from the E3 Demo.

Sketch of "Snake".

Sketches of early 13th colossus prototypes.

Another early 13th colossus prototype sketch, it resembles the "Snake A" model.

Previous sketch of the 13th colossus with more details.

Sketch of "Snake B".

The HUD icon of the 13th colossus.

References