Spider (or Aberth, the name given to it by fans) is an unused colossus that was nearly completed. Its name was given by the developers as it looks like a daddy longleg.
Fumito Ueda said the following in an interview about Spider's removal from the game: "Spider was meant to be defeated by slashing it with your sword while riding Agro, but that would have required us to put in a special motion just to battle that Colossus, so I didn’t think it was very elegant [1]."
Strategy
Shadow of the Colossus - OPM demo compilation
At 0:58, Wander can be seen sweeping his sword on horseback, in the OPM demo.
According to the artbook, "it was defeated by leading it from water to land", so the location of the battle was near a watery area. As stated above, Spider's weak spots were on its legs, and after Wander had hit all six of them, it would have "destroyed its posture" and caused it to fall. The player would then run up to where Spider fell down and be able to jump into its open mouth and stab its major sigil(s). This probably had to be repeated at least once.
The player also had to evade its legs, for they were used to attack. In the OPM and PSU demos of the game, Wander has the ability to swing his sword sideways while on horseback, which was the main way to target its legs. This ability would be removed in all later versions.
Rumors
Spider is widely assumed to have once been located at F0 on the map; behind the current location of the entrance temple. In the Preview and PSU Preview demos of the game, a remnant of the same style of cliffs seen in the Spider screenshots can be found a short distance away at quadrant G0, suggesting the forbidden lands once extended further north than what exists in the released game.
Gallery
| The game | ICO ( Demo · Revisions from U.S. version · Ico HD ) | |
| Characters | Ico · Yorda · The Queen · Shadows · Shinkan | |
| The Castle | Idol Gates · Yorda's language · Saving Benches Altar • Warehouse • Spiral Stairs • Old Bridge • Stairs • Trolley 1 • Trolley 2 • Crane • Chandelier • Drawbridge • Main Gate • Graveyard • Dark Room • 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 | |
| Other Media | Ico ~Melody in the Mist~ · Official Game Guide · Ico: Castle in the Mist | |
 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 |