Yamori A (ヤモリA - lit. "Gecko A" in Japanese) is one of the unused colossi that did not make it into the final release of the game.
Fumito Ueda briefly mentioned Yamori A during an interview from the December 2nd, 2005 edition of Famitsu while talking about the 8th colossus, with the quote: "There was actually another colossus of a similar type".[1][2]
Appearance[]
Yamori A was similar to the 8th colossus, with it also being a gecko. Although unlike its counterpart, the top part of its body was covered in fur and its legs were armored. Its feet had three toes and its tail was split into three parts. Its face, while textured differently, had the same shape as that of the 8th colossus. Many of these features were likely placeholder, and not representative of the colossus' last design, as Ueda describes the picture in the artbook as an early screenshot of Yamori A.
The texture segment of Yamori A's model from the PS3 data sheets lists many different textures for the colossus, while the version shown in the artbook seems to only contain three aside from the fur textures. This further suggests that the model changed significantly from what's shown in said image. A texture segment named "izu_yamoriA_test" lists all three textures from the picture, except for the fur. It would seem that the screenshot shows a slightly more advanced iteration than the model listed in "izu_yamoriA_test", while still being far from its final design.
Strategy[]
The Famitsu Nicknames Interview with Fumito Ueda has him briefly go over Yamori A's strategy while talking about the 8th colossus.[1][2]
"We called it Yamori, but there was actually another colossus of a similar type. It was a colossus that'd chase you while you were climbing the walls, and the strategy to defeat it was to grab onto its back with a backward-jump. I figured it'd be pointless to show the same thing twice, so I narrowed it down to one."
Instead of dropping it on the ground, Wander would need to lure it up the wall and jump onto its back, killing it by stabbing the sigil(s) in there. Besides that, it's unknown what else this battle entailed.
One possibility is that it did not shoot any projectiles, as there's no model texture segment in the PS3 sheets, only having one named "yamori_b_breath_ball". There's also no script animations for effects such as the 5th colossus' early fire breath attack, suggesting that most likely, Yamori A wasn't capable of such attacks.
Location[]
Yamori A lived at B3, in the unused arena named Sluice.
A lot of team effort by the community digging into the files led to several pieces of evidence being unearthed surrounding the quadrant B3, Sluice and Yamori A.[3] Such as Sluice's chip data, which reflects the models placed in the quadrant, matching perfectly with the low resolution texture of early B3, the textures shown in one of the beta images of B3 matching textures listed under the Sluice's texture segment in the data sheets, and an object named "yamoriA_hill" which contains textures that match with another object, named "sluice_rock".[4]
Trivia[]
- Despite being named "Yamori A", it is likely that this colossus was made after its counterpart. With the "se-frame-table" and some earlier sheets of the 8th colossus (Yamori B), it can be noticed that it was previously only known as "Yamori", as only one gecko colossus was planned at the beginning. Later on the 8th colossus had a revised design and its name was changed to "Yamori B" (similar to how Griffin A became Griffin B; and Snake A evolved to B and then C). After that, for whatever reason, the developers decided to create another gecko colossus and assigned it to Stage 11 (The 8th colossus' Stage is the 9th), its name being "Yamori A". A possibility is that its name reflects its difficulty, as it had an armorless back and lacked any kind of toxicity, the implication seems to be that its battle was easier overall.
- The PS3 sheet data lists a HUD icon for "Yamori_A", however, it likely is referring to the first model of the 8th colossus and not this boss. HUD icons are an icon in the shape of the colossus that used to show the weakpoint locations in early builds. Yamori A most likely used the same icon as its counterpart.
- The sheets also reveal that Yamori A had an idol statue in the Shrine of Worship at one point while Griffin and Saru didn't, suggesting it lasted much longer in development than both of them.
- It having an idol statue with its own unique model and texture listed in the data sheets further supports Ueda's comment of the picture being an early screenshot of Yamori A. A trailer from August 2004 shows that all idols were copies of the 1st colossus' statue; either the idols were changed after this period, or they were hiding the idols for spoiler reasons.
- Yamori A is one of three unused colossi, the other two being Roc and Phoenix, to have a sigil texture listed on its model in the sheets. This was probably because the other colossi had the sigil separate from the main model, or were simply not added yet.
- Several colossi from the E3 Demo had sigils separate from their main model. This wasn't the case for later versions.
- Wander can be seen perched on top of the Colossus in the artbook image (see gallery). It would seem as if that particular screenshot comes from an earlier build where Wander had a blue vest.
- The E3 Demo version of the 8th colossus' tail is split into three parts just like Yamori A's. Likely because Yamori A was made with the 8th colossus as its base.
- This is also true for the shadow model of the 8th colossus.
- The screenshot of Yamori A was taken on the last frame of its shake animation for when Wander is on top of it. In the E3 Demo, the 8th colossus has the same animation, being played if Wander stands on top of its head. In later versions the animation was modified to be less intense.
- Two damage animations for the 8th colossus while it is still standing upright were found in the E3 Demo, being removed in later versions. They are named "add_mune_back_damage" (mune = chest) and "add_kosi_back_damage" (kosi = waist), and are likely remnants of Yamori A's animations. This may imply that Yamori A had two sigils, one at each end of its back.
- An artbook page showing three gecko designs[5], describes them as "In the early stages of development, there were three types of eighth colossus. You will find all types on this page. Each type has a different location of weaknesses and different specifications for attack." One of them resembles the first model of the 8th colossus and the other has the same mouth design and carapace as the later model of it. The remaining sketch is unlike the other two and may be in fact Yamori A, although it's currently not possible to know for sure.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:FamitsuNicknameInterview.png | December 2nd, 2005 Famitsu - The Colossi Nicknames (1st to 10th Colossus)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:FamitsuNicknameInterviewTranslation.png | December 2nd, 2005 Famitsu - The Colossi Nicknames, translated by Kepekley23.
- ↑ https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:SluiceB3Summary.png | Summary of most of the evidence linking B3 to Sluice, by Aith.
- ↑ https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:YamoriASluiceConnection.png | Connection of the Sluice with Yamori A.
- ↑ http://sotc.bplaced.net/?page=page181big | Shadow of the Colossus Art Book - Page 180.
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 |
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 |