Agro and the Environment

A noticeable trend as the game progresses is the extent to which the environment must be utilized to Wander's advantage if he is to succeed. The first three battles take place on a simple, large, flat area of land; the only goal is to find out how to climb the colossus and attack a weak point that is indefinitely unprotected. However, the next three battles require that some aspect of the environment be used in some way, and the colossus's behavior must also be studied. From this point onwards, Wander must use his surroundings to his advantage more and more; the final three battles in particular require extensive use of the environment, as well as a keen knowledge of how the colossus acts and reacts to environmental changes.

Story

The story of Shadow of the Colossus begins with Wander in a mysterious land, traveling on his horse, Agro, over a massive stone bridge. This bridge leads to the Shrine of Worship, a massive temple located in the center of the land. Wander carries with him a body wrapped in a cloak, which he lays upon an altar in the shrine. He removes the cloak, unveiling a maiden, Mono, dressed in a white gown. A voice, belonging to an entity known as Dormin, echoes from above. Wander requests that Dormin return Mono's soul to her body, reviving her. Dormin states that it may be possible to revive her, under one condition: that Wander destroys the sixteen idols lining the temple hallsDormin: "With that sword, however... it may not be impossible ... if thou manage to accomplish what We askest ... Behold the idols that stand along the wall... Thou art to destroy all of them." (Shadow of the Colossus), by killing sixteen different colossi located throughout the landDormin: "But those idols cannot be destroyed by the mere hands of a mortal..." / Wander: "Then what am I to do?" / Dormin: "In this land there exist colossi that are the incarnations of those idols. If thou defeat those colossi--the idols shall fall." (Shadow of the Colossus).

With the death of each colossus, Wander's physical appearance deteriorates. After the death of the twelfth colossus, it is revealed that Wander is being pursued by a group of warriors led by a shaman called Lord Emon. Urged to hurry with his task by Dormin, Wander defeats the last colossus; on his way there, however, Agro falls from a crumbling bridge into a canyon river far below. Lord Emon's company arrives in the Shrine of Worship just as the last temple idol crumbles. When Wander appears, his face is pale, his eyes are glowing, and he has two small horns protruding from his head. As the possessed Wander staggers toward Mono, Lord Emon orders his warriors to kill WanderEmon: "Eradicate the source of the evil. Look... He's possessed by the dead. Hurry up and do it! It is better to put him out of his misery then to exist, cursed as he is." (Shadow of the Colossus). They obey, and one warrior shoots Wander with a crossbow; another stabs him in the chest. Black blood sprays out from the wound and he is covered in darkness as he falls to the floor - a death identical to those suffered by the colossi.

Dormin's consciousness enters Wander's fallen body, and it grows into a colossal giant that explains that his body was separated in order to seal away its powerDormin: "Thou severed Our body into sixteen segments for an eternity in order to seal away Our power..." (Shadow of the Colossus). Wander unknowingly freed a fragment of Dormin after the death of each colossus and stored it inside his bodyDormin: "We have borrowed the body of this warrior..." (Shadow of the Colossus). Lord Emon casts the ancient sword used to kill the colossi into a small pool in the back of the temple hall, creating a whirlwind of light that absorbs both Dormin and Wander. Lord Emon and his men flee the forbidden land. Emon hopes that Wander is someday able to atone for his sinsEmon: "Poor ungodly soul... Now, no man shall ever trespass upon this place again. Should you be alive... If it's even possible to continue to exist in these sealed lands... one day, perhaps you will make atonement for what you've done." (Shadow of the Colossus).

Mono awakens. Agro limps into the temple with a broken back leg. Mono follows him to the pool into which Wander and Dormin were pulled by Lord Emon's spell, finding a male infant with tiny horns on his head. She takes the child with her, following the horse to higher levels of the Shrine of Worship, arriving at a secret garden within the shrine. It is at this point that the game ends.

Characters

Wander is the protagonist of Shadow of the Colossus. He is a determined warrior armed with only a bow and a magic sword; so determined is he that he agrees to perform Dormin's task even though it tells him the price he pays for the granting of his wish will be heavy indeed. Wander's appearance degrades each time he defeats a colossus: his body becomes paler, bruised, bloodied, and calloused (as evidenced by his feet, legs, arms, hands, neck, and face), and his hair becomes darker and more matted than at game's beginning.

Mono — voiced by Hitomi Nabatame.

Mono is the young maiden who Wander seeks to revive by going to the Shrine of Worship. Little is known of her except that, in Wander's own words, she was sacrificed because her fate was cursed. Her relationship to Wander is uncertain. A voice which is possibly hers can be heard while Wander is being transported back to the Shrine of Worship after defeating a colossus. The voice gets louder and clearer each time, but no subtitles are given for the speech, and even at best it is still barely audible.

Agro

Agro is Wander's horse, and as such his means of transportation. Agro is very loyal to Wander; he generally stays as close as possible. He even returns to the Shrine of Worship every time Wander defeats a colossus, and is there to greet him when he awakens from his ordeal. Agro proves to be a key asset in beating several colossi, particularly Dirge (the tenth colossus), Basaran (the ninth colossus), and Phalanx (the thirteenth). His actions during the ninth colossus battle make the battle easier rather than Agro being key in defeating Basaran.

Dormin — voiced by Kazuhiro Nakata (male voice) and Kyoko Hikami (female voice).

Dormin is the mysterious, disembodied entity that resides in the Shrine of Worship. Dormin refers to itself as "We" and speaks with two voices at once, one male and one female. It agrees to revive Mono if Wander can slay the sixteen colossi. The colossi contain fragments of Dormin's essence; slaying the colossi releases these pieces, allowing them to join each other: an event Lord Emon hopes to prevent, and about which Wander does not care even if he realizes it is happening. Dormin is a very ambiguous character with an obvious dual nature—light and dark, male and female, benevolent and malevolent—seemingly represented all at the same time. Dormin does warn Wander that his quest will exact a heavy price.

Emon — voiced by Naoki Bando.

Lord Emon narrates the vision in the game's introduction, but is not seen in person until the cutscene that plays after the defeat of the twelfth colossus. He wears a mask; his face is not revealed until the end of the game. He has a small group of soldiers at his command. Emon is pursuing Wander in order to prevent the use of "the forbidden spell" which, though it will resurrect Mono, will also release Dormin from bondage to the sixteen colossi. He seems to be ambivalent toward Wander. On one hand, he orders his death after seeing what has happened to Wander, although that may have been as much an act of mercy as condemnation, and casts a spell that traps both Dormin and Wander in the shrine. In the end, however, he expresses hope that Wander can atone for what he has done, if he is alive in any shape or form at all.

Colossi

The colossi are armored - and often enormous - creatures that seem invincible, but each has its hidden weaknesses and habits. Each colossus has remarkably different anatomies and affinities, ranging from simple giant humanoids to fierce predatory animals, and each is located in a unique lair. Often, the environments in which the colossi are fought must be fully utilized to the player's advantage to reach or reveal a colossus's weakness.

Although the colossi are unnamed in the game, the Japanese preorder "making of" CD lists the Colossi as such:

Connections to Ico

Shadow of the Colossus is considered both a spiritual successorThe Long-Awaited Spiritual Successor to ICO Arrives Mid-February in Europe. Retrieved from http://uk.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/wandaandthecolossus/news.html?sid=6141938 on 1st July 2006. and prequel to Ico. For several months during and after the game's release, Ueda maintained that the prequel nature of Shadow of the Colossus was simply his personal take on the game and not its canon nature, intending for each player to decide the truth for himself. Later, during an interview in March, 2006, Ueda revealed, specifically, that the connection exists: the world of the two games is the same, with Shadow of the Colossus taking place an unspecified time before Ico.

A few in-game features hint at this connection:

• Both games feature a fictional language spoken by the voice actors, and accompanied by subtitles in most instances.
• Architectural similarities exist between the two games, in that both prominently feature castles, statues, and ruins.
• A distant structure, visible to the west from the endpoint of the arched bridge, appears to be the giant castle in which Ico is played out. ^*
• At the end of Shadow of the Colossus, Wander/Dormin is shown to have become a baby with horns. Ueda has confirmed this to indicate that Wander/Dormin sires the line of horned boys, of which Ico is a descendant.
• The shadowy figures that surround Wander after he defeats a colossus are of a similar design to certain ghosts that rise to challenge Ico; this may be a hint that these spirits have the same origins.
• In Ico, immediately after releasing Yorda from her cage, the player comes to a long bridge with a statue at the nearest end. The statue is of a man with horns (one is broken off), who is wearing a tunic and has a hair-cut similar to Wander's.

Some in-game features may simply be hints to Ico and not story related.

• Clothing, and designs on those clothes, are of a similar style. This includes Ico and Wander's tunics looking very similar and Yorda and Mono's dress looking very similar.
• Some fans have found a beach that looks very similar to the one shown in Ico's ending.

Early development as Nico