Team Ico Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Team Ico Wiki

Gaius is the nickname given to the third colossus, resembling a knight. Its lair is a tilted arena in the middle of a giant lake in quadrant E2.

Path to the colossus

See also: Map for this path

Initially, the path to Gaius is the same as the path taken before for Quadratus - go around the Shrine of Worship to the right until being presented a way north, then proceed across the land bridge. This time, however, go left when the path forks; this will take the player to the northern plains. The sword will direct Wander to the northwest now. It will point roughly to a canyon entrance; this is where to go. The canyon path will eventually lead to the shores of a lake, and a cutscene will start, emphasizing the giant island in the middle of the lake and a path to take to go up. Wander must leave Agro behind here. Jump into the lake and swim to the path on the west side of the arena. This pathway will eventually end, and the player must jump to a ledge on an adjacent pillar. Grab on and go to the right. Here, Wander must leap off this ledge to reach the arena, just like what was required to reach the first colossus. Though the lake is a very long way down, Wander won't die if the maneuver is performed incorrectly, but it does takes a while to swim back. Once having jumped successfully, climb up to the top of the arena to begin.

Walkthrough

Gaius will often attack Wander with its "sword" - a massive pillar of rock in place of a right hand - by swinging it and bringing it down to the earth with a massive crash. The obvious thing to do here is to run up the sword to start the ascent towards its major sigils, but there is a complication to this strategy: after running all the way up the sword, the way up is blocked by a great band of stone around Gaius' right wrist. To proceed, the barrier must be shattered.

In the center of the arena, there is a peculiar, shimmering plate. Prompt Gaius to swing its sword down upon this plate; once it brings its weapon down on the solid plate, the force of the impact will shatter the guard around its wrist. After this happens, Gaius will almost always perform the sword attack again; make sure Wander is not on the plate this time, as the sword will simply crash off of it. Note that if Wander is too close to Gaius, it will preform a stabbing action into the ground versus an overhead swing; it must do the latter to run up the sword so Wander can start climbing. The player may wish to get the weakpoint on its midsection before the one on the head, though it can be a trickier jump than it looks.

Time Attack times in Original and PS3 versions (Normal, Hard): 6:00, 5:00
Time Attack times in PS4 Remake (Normal, Hard): 6:00, 6:30

Weakspots

Location Percentage of health
Normal Hard
On its midsection 50% 33%
On top of its head 50% 33%
On the back of its left arm N/A

33%


Tips and tricks

  • When Gaius pulls its sword out of the ground, skilled or lucky players can launch high into the air if they crouch down near the end of the sword at the right time. By doing this, Wander can land on Gaius' upper body and reach the major sigils without having to shatter its armor. This is a great time saver and very useful for those who have trouble with Time Attack.
  • If one has trouble executing the sword jump method properly, there is an alternative. When Gaius is holding its sword normally (with Wander on it), it will slowly move its arm up and down in an attempt to dislodge him. With the correct timing, Wander can jump at the moment the sword moves up in such a way that he'll land above its armor on its arm.
  • After taking out the weakpoint on Gaius' abdomen, it is possible to jump directly from its waist to its left arm, as there is an extra major sigil there on Hard Mode. It is fairly simple to get just right, and it is a real time saver. Also, if one manages to quickly take out the sigil on its arm, Wander can swiftly leap up to its shoulder and regain stamina before taking out the sigil on its head. This is also a time saver.
  • Right on Gaius' left shoulder (directly above the extra sigil on Hard Mode), there is a small ledge that, if used correctly, can be a rapid and effective way of regaining stamina. It is difficult to use, as even the slightest of Gaius' movements will cause Wander to grab the edge of the ledge and not regain stamina, but it is extremely helpful otherwise.
  • When attempting to approach Gaius' weakspots on its left arm and head, Wander can camp momentarily on its right arm until Gaius will attempt to bend down to shake Wander. While it is bending down, both weakspots are exposed to a high amount of stabs, and the major sigil on its arm is easier to access as Wander can now simply run for the sigil instead of having to climb downwards to reach it.
  • As the jumping from the sword to the top of Gaius' wristguard or belly has become even more inconsistent in the Playstation 4 Remake, another option that is possible is to climb the thigh of Gaius and leaping onto its arm as it bends down.

Music

Trivia

  • Gaius is one of only three colossi that wield a weapon, the other two being Valus and Argus. Gaius is also the only one of these three that will never drop its weapon; Valus drops its weapon during its death sequence, and Argus is disarmed by Wander during their battle. This is likely due to the fact that Gaius' weapon is either physically a part of its body or grafted onto its right hand; either way, it appears to be permanently attached to Gaius.
  • Gaius has the farthest reach of any colossi (excluding the four that use projectile attacks) due to both its height and the length of its sword.
  • Unlike the majority of colossi, Gaius' appearance isn't animalistic; it somewhat resembles a human in proportion and stature.
  • Gaius is one of the more popular colossi among fans due in part to its great height and the fact that the fight is essentially a deathmatch between two swordsmen held within the confines of the lofty arena wherein Gaius resides. Gaius' popularity may also be due to the fact that many players view the fight against Gaius as the first "proper" fight in the game; Valus and Quadratus are seen somewhat as training colossi in that they are more designed to allow the player to become accustomed to the controls as well as the game's mechanics and physics. Gaius, by comparison, is a tougher opponent, especially given that the puzzle of breaking its armor is trickier to discover than either Valus' or Quadratus' weaknesses.
  • Gaius makes an appearance on the Playstation 4 remaster covert art, alongside Wander near him.
  • Gaius makes a lot of different noises; as with most colossi, it bellows and roars a lot, and some of the noises it makes are similar to those made by roaring bears.
  • Gaius is potentially the furriest of all 16 colossi; most of its body that isn't covered by armor has fur on it, and even when the armor on its arm is broken, it can be seen that beneath that armor is more fur. Going by this, it is possible that most of Gaius' body is covered in fur, rather than in specific places like the other colossi. There is, however, a bald patch of tough skin on the inside of its right arm.
  • Gaius is the only bipedal colossi that doesn't have hands. Its right hand is connected directly to its sword, and its left is like a stump with some stone armor protruding from it, which vaguely resembles very crude fingers.
  • Gaius and Valus are the only two colossi with major sigils on their arms, but those are exclusive to Hard Mode. Argus and Malus come close, but they have minor sigils on their arms, not major.
  • Along with Quadratus and Wander, Gaius made a cameo appearance outside of Shadow of the Colossus in the 2008 PS3 game LittleBigPlanet, where Gaius can be downloaded as a costume.
  • In the PS4 Remaster, a trophy can be earned from defeating Gaius without shattering its wristguard.
  • Gaius is the third-tallest colossi after Malus and Quadratus.
  • In the Preview and PSU Preview versions of the game, the theme "Grotesque Figures" plays during its battle.
  • An early version of Gaius' design shown in a Nico DVD trailer features a totally different traditional-looking sword as opposed to its final club-like weapon. An unused animation of Gaius swiping its sword is also seen.

Gallery

SotCFullTemplate
The Game Shadow of the Colossus ( Demo  · Pal Release  · Shadow of the Colossus HD  · PS4)
Characters Wander  · Agro  · Mono  · Dormin  · Lord Emon  · Guards  · Shadows
The Colossi I  · II  · III  · IV  · V · VI  · VII  · VIII  · IX  · X  · XI  · XII  · XIII  · XIV  · XV  · XVI
Unused Colossi ( Devil  · Evis  · Griffin  · Phoenix  · Roc  · Saru  · Sirius  · Spider  · Worm  · Yamori A  · Buffalo  · Quetzalcoatl)
Magic Sigil  · Hard Mode
Colossus Arenas Temple  · Proto  · Arena  · Kirin's Hill  · Canyon · Canossa  · Lakeside  · Underground  · Geyser  · Gravewind  · Leo's Cave  · Poseidon's Lake  · Desert  · Ruins  · Parthenon  · Sanctuary
Unused Arenas ( Badlands  · Cave  · Crater  · Devil's Plain  · Dune  · Hillock  · I1  · Labyrinth  · Sluice  · Stonehenge  · Valley )
The Forbidden Lands Shadow creaturesSave shrinesFruit treesWhite-tailed lizards

The Shrine of Worship
Umbral GladeStone Arch GorgeDried MarshNorthern SpanDesert FortressMisty FallsRavine EntranceHalf-moon CanyonWestern PlainRound Stone HillLair to the WestStone Bridge CliffCliff PathLair on the MesaWestern CapeArch Bridge PlainBlasted LandsAutumn ForestEastern BluffValley PlainSouthwestern CapeSouthern PlainGreen CapeThe Broken Seal

Soundtrack Roar of the Earth
Walkthrough Time AttackGolden Coins
Other media Nico  · Official artbook/guidebook  · Collectible figurines  · Film adaptation
Giantology campaign
Hoaxes Jebal-Barez skeletonTamil Nadu tsunami giantSulu Sea eel statuePolarneft conspiracySayre family vacation
Characters Eric BelsonCasper ShillingEd GuylerArkady SimkinBoris AtlasovAndrew and Ellie Sayre
Media Giantology podcasts (FirstInterview with Arkady SimkinThirdFourth) • IPICP memo
SotC Template CoverLogov2 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 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
Advertisement