RF Generation Message Board

Participants:
singlebanana
Fleach
wildbil52
Crabmaster2000
EngineerMike
two_scoop_steve
russlyman
h1ghw1nd
Flee
OatBob
Raidou
ericeskapade
douglie007
RetroRage
Boshamp
theGrue
Stigzilla

Checkpoints:

Week 1 (June 1st - 8th): Defeat the first 4 colossi: Valis, Quadratus, Gaius & Phaedra
Week 2 (June 9th - 15th): Defeat colossi 5-8: Avion, Barba, Hydrus, Kuromori
Week 3 (June 16th - 22nd): Defeat colossi 9-12: Basaran, Dirge, Celosia, Pelagia
Week 4 (June 23rd - 30th): Defeat colossi 13-16: Phalanx, Cenobia, Argus, Malus

Achievements:
- finish the game
- collect all 77 shining lizard tails
- eat all 128 fruits to completely fill life bar

I'm in.  Are we doing 4 Colossi a week?

That is kind of my general plan, though I have never played this game before and am unsure as to what is left after the 16 colossi are defeated. Maybe someone who has already played in can chime in. No spoilers on the thread though please, please send those to me in private. Thanks.

For those of you who also want to play Suikoden, and I hope you do, this game is listed at around 9 hours, so not very long. Tackling a colossus a day would be a good break from a heavy RPG, don't you think? ;)

As usual, I try to help out people that are interested in these playthroughs but don't own the games.

I have a mismatched copy of Shadow of the Colossus (Regular/GH mismatch) that the person I purchased it from didn't want to reconcile that's been sitting on my sale/trade pile for a while if anyone's interested in it. As per usual, just claim it and send me your address if you're interested in it, but it must be used towards the playthrough. ;)

Thanks guys! :)

Mark me down as well. I havn't played it in years. I'll try the HD one this time around, and that'll actually be the first HD remake I've ever played.

Never played this game. I finally have a good reason to play my HD copy. Sign me up. I will do my best to get this one done!

I'll do my best to complete this game. My pilgrimage to Game Quest will cost me a week's worth of play time, but I should still be able to get through this game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H3xQzQauyY

Well then you should be playing this with Crabby!

I should try this game again. I got the hd collection a while ago and could not get into it. Maybe the play thru will make me stay focused and complete the game.

Blast I tried to play this before and couldn't beat the first guy. Ughhh. Lol sign me up maybe I'll go over Bils house for help


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Let's do it up!

I'm gonna see if I can find a copy for PS3. Looks interesting!

I wasn't sure until I watched a trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW7AzOcoEno

I should be joining you guys soon thanks to wildbil :D

I think I may dust this one off and go for all those fruits and lizards.

I'm definitely in- picked up the PS3 version a while back.  I played the PS2 version a couple of times but couldn't get past the 7th(?).

count me in...SotC on the PS2 it is!

I'll be honest. I put this thing in last night because I wanted to try to get a handle on the controls before the month started. Wow..........there is a pretty steep learning curve for someone like me who is basically terrified of anything with more than 2 buttons. :)  Made it to the first colossus and got my a@$ handed to me 3 times. I found what appears to be the right place to climb up, but I'm a little too shaky with the controls. I know this will come with time, but this game looks fantastic! Loved the intro sequence.

Let's do this

Yeah I fired it up last night to figure out the controls. Its gonna take a while to get used to the controls but the little I played I enjoyed it.

throw me on the List I dont know how much time I can spend on it, but I will try and play it this month.

Throw me into the fold.  I'll play as much as I can but I'll be spending most of my time on Suikoden.

Add me as well. I think I can make it happen before getting into Suikoden

Wow. I didn't notice this game had an HD remake. When this game came out, all I remember is everyone talking about how beautiful it looked. I hope the HD remake is as above and beyond in comparison to other games from the same era.

Awesome guys! I think I have added everyone to the participants list that have replied so far. Looks like we have what might be our largest playthrough group ever attacking this game. 15  members so far!

I have the HD version coming in the mail :) I hope it looks that good too Boshamp! Can't wait to fire it up.

I played the ICO on the HD remake, its was beautiful, cant wait for this

I wouldn't say it is just because of the amount of buttons. lol I put it in just a few minutes ago to get used to it for a smooth playthough to jump into the retro playthough quicker and I had the hardest time with the controls.

Popped it in tonight to start to get into it for a couple hours and as soon as I started...a Commercial for "Attack on Titan" on adult swim played...I thought to myself, "It will be a fun night"

All right, calling it a night. Getting used to the controls took longer than I thought it would, but was able to take down the first two colossi. I am reminded that games used to have unique controls before you could tell the console what your preferred controls were for everything you play. (X360) ha ha

I agree. Getting use to the controls is a bit of a challenge. Not that they are overly difficult to figure out, but movement and such are quite different in this game. It took me quite a bit to even get use to the horse. Ha!

I have to say that this game is simply beautiful. I'm not a modern console guy, but I would love to see this game in HD, and it makes me want a PS3. The attention to detail even in the PS2 is astounding. You can tell that there was a lot of love put into this game and I appreciate that.

Nice job on the first 2 colossi and looking forward to hearing about everyone's experience with the first 4 when the week is over. I took down all four earlier last week in an attempt to stay a little ahead in case the playthrough runs into any "snags." Also trying to play Suikoden if I can find the time.

How is everyone else progressing?

I'll happy to at least take down one Colossus today. This will be a frantic week for me as I have to get ready to fly out west for my pilgrimage to Game Quest. I think I'll bring my PS2 memory card so I can play some more while I'm at Crabby's.

By the way, it felt so cool to write "bring my memory card." I haven't done anything like bringing a game or memory card to a friend's house in about ten years. Hurray for nostalgia!

That is awesome! I know that Crabby loves this game, so I can't wait for us to discuss your experience playing it with him on the podcast. Personally interacting with friends and playing video games, outside of online play, is a dying culture. Nice to see you keeping it alive. I hope they don't swipe your memory card at airport security. :P

I'll probably put it in my carry-on just to make sure it actually gets to BC. It's going to be fun. I know Crabby might be playing the remake but hopefully I'll have some time to play the PS2 version.

Damn I wasn't going to even touch this game, but you guys talking about it is making me want to take down a couple of these big bastards just for old time's sake (and to see how the HD version looks).

I can't wait for you guys to get to the one I couldn't beat. It made me temporarily give up on the game until I could have a friend of mine come over and kill it for me.

You'll have to let us know which one that was the week we get there.

Took out the first four yesterday. Man are these fights long!

Nice! Yes, long but fun and rewarding.....not so rewarding for the colossus

@Fleach - Just toss that Memory Card in your back pack , twist your baseball cap around backwards, hop on your bike and get over here already!!

I was able to watch Game of Thrones when it actually aired yesterday for the first time in a long time so that meant I was still awake afterwards!! That doesn't happen often these days, but it did mean I had a little time to play some Shadow of the Colossus. Played for an hour and beat the first 3 Colossi.

The 1st and 3rd ones are a couple of my favorites in the game. They just seem so huge and intimidating at first.

I don't remember feeling bad about killing them when I played this game before, but this time it feels different. Particularly when the 3rd Colossi falls to his knees and then keels over. You can see the life drain out of him and I feel a bit conflicted about that Sad

Not sure how I feel about this HD version. Really doesn't look any different than I remember it, granted its been a very long time. This is the first time I've played one of these HD remakes and I guess I was expecting a lot more from it. So far it just seems the same, but with trophy support.

Uh........... sorry Crabby..... I modified instead of quoted your last post. My apologies sir. :(  I did manage to save the quote I extracted.....Uhhhh #badkarmavillehereIcome


To me, there is something very "unnatural" about this. I think it has something to do with how little you know about what's really going on story-wise. Since you are kind of thrown into this narrative midway, you have no idea why you are saving this girl (her importance) and the consequences (if any) in taking action to do so. There is also nothing menacing about the colossi. They aren't attacking villages or causing harm to others. You are actually the one provoking them. Playing this game is unsettling and I appreciate that it evokes this emotion in me. I hope the story fleshes itself out, but something tells me that I won't be disappointed even if it doesn't.

Luckily I had the same window still open banana so I just clicked back and was able to copy and repost my original message.

I think you'll enjoy how the narrative plays out in this one Rich. Its pretty cool.

Whew! Glad you save it sir. And good to know about the narrative.

Gonna start my play thru when I get off work tonight. I'm looking forward to finally play this game.

I understand I started a little sooner than others, I wanted to save my comments for a little bit after others started.

The First colossus was

Spoiler (hover to show)

 straightforward, one leg to drop it, one spot on head to use to kill it. Balancing the grip meter with striking blows took a little getting used to, since I would gamble how long I had left with how long he freaked out after being stabbed, and I usually was too impatient and stabbed too early.

The second was

Spoiler (hover to show)

 a little more fun, and I learned about the mechanics more too. When he was doing the double front foot stomp, I could let him get about 3 inches from my face and as long as I shot the arrow or hit him with the sword, he would "Magically" go flying backwards and drop for me to mount. He must weigh TONS, and yet, an arrow to the hoof would drive him back without any problem. ha ha It also didn't seem to matter if I hit all four feet or just one as the power bar seems to be half for the spot on his head and the other half would be the one on his ass.

Another cool feature I learned during this battle was the charge meter. On his head, it took about 20 stabs, but when I noticed the grip meter charging as I went to stab, I only needed like 4 stabs to take out the health symbol on his backside.

I also share these feelings...As much as I enjoy playing with my brother online with Dead Rising and Borderlands, I miss the same couch experience. Mario Kart, Mario Party, and really any multiplayer game had a different feeling to it when we could share it in person.

Just a reminder. If you are going to discuss specific details of the current playthrough that some might consider spoilers (such as tactics or critical moments in the story), please be sure to use the spoiler tags until the week is over. Feel free to discuss up to the previous save point after the week is over. For instance, we can freely discuss the colossi battles 1-4 when week 2 starts. If I see any posts that seem like spoilers, I'll try to mark with spoiler tags. No worries if you accidentally leaked something out, we're all good. :)

How do you add a spoiler tag?

 [spoiler] [/spoiler] 

Just to clarify, any tips that you might find in the instruction manual or that might help others. Such as Boshamp's mentioning of the weapon power indicator are fine since they aid in helping others without giving specifics of battles. If you have any questions on whether something may be a spoiler, send me a PM, or just tag it to be safe. Thanks all.

I know it...is she a princess, sister, wife? and what did the colossi do to deserve death? Are we supporting some type of demon figure or evil spirit and making a deal with the devil that will backfire on us?

The world may never know..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2umsVDEmew

After 2 hours of playing I've beaten five Colossi. The first Colossus gave me a ton of trouble.

Spoiler (hover to show)

I was originally stabbing the left leg spot to knock it down then trying to run around and climb its arm once the Colossus fell to the ground. A quick message to Rich informed me that I was doing things wrong. After that I beat the Colossus without any trouble.

Now that I've figured out the controls (and changed the camera controls) it's smooth sailing.

If you hit L1 (I believe), it automatically turns you so that you face the colossus. This really helps when you're in tight or being chased. Ha!

You definitely need to do that during the flying Colossi, otherwise it's like getting hit by a bus.

Wait.....ONE FLIES!!!!! SPOILER!!! OMG!!!! CHEESEBURGER LAZERS!!!  :o :o :o

I can't remember if the game teaches you this but there is a quick turnaround while riding Agro.  While galloping you press down on the left analog stick and at the same time press X twice (fast) and you will halt and start running the opposite direction.  Very helpful for certain fights that happen while on horseback.

I got a little ahead of myself and almost finished the game yesterday.  I'm going to slow down a bit and add my thought per colossi behind spoiler tags.

I had to stop myself too, this one seems to be very short, I know I was told 8-9 hours, but considering we are all pretty well into gaming...I might think most of us will get this done in like 5-6 hours. ha ha

I remember each fight taking much longer the first time I played.  Knowing how to take each one down makes the game MUCH shorter so I'm going for fruit and lizard tails to extend this playthrough.  The last few pieces of fruit I ate didn't extend my lifebar so I may be at the max.

For those playing for the first time, if you hold your sword up during a colossus fight, the light will shine towards the weak spot.  Can help a little if you aren't sure where on the colossus you should be striking.

Does the game bring up the extras? I wasn't aware of anything like that when I defeated the first two colossi. I would love some collectables to make this longer.

I just had to share a quote from Singlebanana in a private chat.

I am always sketchy using that word on this thread for this game, but that is exactly what we do to the colossi, and I will have to expect some snickering. ;) ha ha ha

Nope, the game tells you nothing.  If you shoot white tailed lizards and eat the tail (circle button) your stamina meter grows slightly.  If you shoot fruit off a tree and eat it, your health bar grows.  If you re visit the battle site of a previously defeated Colossi you can fight it again with a "replay" filter where the screen looks like an old film reel.  If you pray in front of a crumbled statue of a defeated colossi in the main temple, you can face that colossus in a time attack mode to earn powered up weapons, different costumes, lizards marked on your map, etc.  

The game leaves all of this to discover,  No menus or instructions.

Thoughts on the first colossus: Valus

Spoiler (hover to show)

He is relatively easy to find, directly south of the main temple, and the game does something rather clever.  It teaches you how to climb, jump, grab ledges, and roll right before you face the first beast.  I like that Valus is walking away from you when you approach, it gives you time to appreciate just what a task you have in front of you.  It's relatively easy to just run up behind him and jump on his back leg but if you are going for time attack, it helps to shoot an arrow at him so that he stops walking away or turns towards you.  He is also a great colossus to practice crawl jumping on.  When you are crawling up the grassy/furry areas of a colossus, try hitting triangle to cover a larger distance than just crawling.  Once you get to the top, it's pretty straight forward, stab the glowy bit.

I don't know if the game does it on purpose but when I take a colossus down and he falls slowly and the sad music starts playing, I can't help but feel bad about what I've done.

Spoiler (hover to show)

 I think that Wander thinks that the voice in the temple is testing him, seeing if he is worthy of the power to bring the girl back to life.  I like to think that Wander takes no joy in bringing the beasts down.

It appears that I owe someone some negative karma...

Well, It took me MUCH longer than the first two, but I finally figured out the secret behind the third one and defeated him...I only fell off the ramp five times and the colossi like 12...ha ha. Embarrassing. Calling it good for this one for tonight.

Edit: Oh yeah did it ever take longer. 28 minutes to beat the first two, then 1:19 at the save from the third. ha ha

Had to switch the controls to "normal" right off the bat. I hate that reverse control BS.

I had to do that too. Moving the stick to the left to pan the camera right and vice versa hurt my brain.

While defeating each Colossi I feel like I'm committing deicide and Wander has been duped into killing these idols by a malicious god. When you beat a Colossus and come back to the temple I've noticed an increasing number of shadowy figures standing around Wander.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Could these be the idols he's sent to kill?

Does anyone have any theories as to what happens to Wander when he faints after each fight and how he is returned to the temple?

Having already finished the game, I know what they are so I will tell you what I thought the first time I played.

Spoiler (hover to show)

 I thought that each colossus was imprisoning  the soul of a person and by defeating the colossus, I was releasing their hold on this person's soul.  Then the black streams take you after each fight, I thought that that was the soul giving you some of it's power and taking you back to the temple so that you can save the other souls imprisoned by the other colossi.

Had a little more time last night to play. Finished the 6th Colossus. Really enjoy the 5th one. There is one I'm really waiting to show up again, but I can't remember which number it is. Snapped up a couple white tailed lizards right before the last Colossi. Still feeling sad about taking these beasts down.

I'm thinking something totally different.

Think anti-hero. That's all I'm willing to say for fear of spoilers.

So what it the purpose of the lizards and the fruit? Do only some lizards have a white tail, or do all of them?

Only the lizards with white tails have white tails.  You can find them on most save temples. Eating the tail of a white tailed lizard increases the size of your stamina meter, eating fruit increases the size of your health meter.

Thanks. So only the PS3 version tracks these items for trophies, right?

Yeppers

Can't be a spoiler if it's a guess.  Throw it behind a spoiler tag.

Bought the PS3 collection on sale a while ago, started Ico but never stuck with it, so I'm in!

I really should have gotten around to playing this sooner, since I have this awesome poster up in my gaming room:

[img width=350 height=482]http://i.imgur.com/ftKCFGd.jpg[/img]

Nice!

lol, that is a pretty sick poster

Started playing the PS3 version, and so far I have spent more time fighting the damned camera than colossi.

Took down first two in around 45mins, and am up to #3.  Have worked out/half-remembered his trick, namely...

Spoiler (hover to show)

 ...getting it to shatter its runic armour and then running up the "sword"...

...but I died in the process.

#3 is the first puzzle where you have to use

Spoiler (hover to show)

the environment

to your advantage. I'm a big fan of this battle.

I'm playing on the PS2 and I'm not really having any issues when it comes to the colossi battles. The L1 button is a blessing and a great idea by the developers. However, the camera gives me quite a headache during the rest of the game, especially when trying to track down the silver-tailed lizards on those temples.

Which is the third Colossus? The sword guy?

I have only used L1 for Avion. It helps with positioning and timing my jumps. Other than that I feel like the camera lock-on doesn't help me much.

I think it helps a ton when you are doing a lot of running around or riding your horse. It's especially helpful to get a view of what's going on behind you in terms of dodging oncoming attacks. Some colossi also disappear for a short time and come back. L1 works well in locating them when they pop back up.

@Fleach: Yep, sword-guy.  Found that L1 meant that the sword was off-screen.

im having issues, im trying not to not use a walk through, so never-the-less I have died alot on the first colossi, any hints ?

While he is walking around (this goes for every colossus) aim your sword at him, the light will point to the weak spot, then find a way there.  You have to "encourage" him to lower himself.

Changing the controls to normal was a must for me. Once I figured out that was the problem it's been a lot better. Some of these guys were really pissing me off, especially the third one. I like how it just throws you in mid-story and doesn't give you any background on the Colossi or anything.

Seems like everything about this game is big. The world is huge, some of the pathways and whatnot are really long! I also like some smaller details they put in, like when you save at the stones and reload you're asleep against it. Or when you fall a long ways or get hit hard you don't jump to your feet, you may lay there for 5 seconds.

#1

Spoiler (hover to show)

When you walk up on this one you really see how big & intimidating these guys can be. Took a while to get the controls down until I realized later to stop holding triangle the whole time. Probably spent 20-25 minutes on him, figuring out how and where to navigate around for a while. When he was over halfway dead or so I learned the charging part. Compared to the others I consider this one easy now.

#2

Spoiler (hover to show)

Haha it's funny how he flies around from the arrow to the foot. Had to do some work to reach the weak spot. It wasn't until I was nearly done with this one until I found out you could stand on his back and regain stamina. I fell off a lot of times before that, even climbing up getting used to the controls.

#3

Spoiler (hover to show)

Most annoying one so far. The in-game hint didn't help me either. What does it mean break his armor? I fell off the bridge going up like 5 times and that swim back sucks! I couldn't get him to do the attacks I needed to climb up for soooo long. Finally reached the top and got him half way and I fall off haha. Repeat process until he's finally finished! He kept shaking so much it was hard to get a decent hit in.

#4

Spoiler (hover to show)

Semi annoying to get him to lay down but not too bad. I kept getting nervous when my horse would be under him, I'd call him away every time. This is the only one I've felt bad for killing so far. It seemed like this one was shrieking in pain worse than the others. Idk maybe my attacks were stronger this time. I felt bad because from the story we don't know anything about these or really why we're killing them.

Also, anyone getting slight Ocarina of Time vibes riding the horse through fields? The stamina meter and climbing reminds me of Skyward Sword too. Loving the game so far. Pretty challenging, might have to switch to a junk controller incase I break one lmao

@douglie are you having trouble climbing? don't hold triangle unless you need to press it and you can actually stand on his back to regain stamina on certain spots

If you are still having trouble on the first, I can help you with the strategy:

Spoiler (hover to show)

Run behind the colossus and begin climbing up his left ankle. You will need to use your sword on the ankle to make him bend over so that you can jump up and grab the armor just above that ankle. Once you are past this, make your way to the top of his head to take him out.

I am so in for this one.

I'm 3 Colossi in right now. The controls were clunky at first but now I got the hang of them. Also had my cousin help me get started which was a big help. I like how straightforward the game is now. Really great sense of adventure to it.

I beat the 5th one last night. He's a lot of fun! Might do numero seis tonight. I'll post my thoughts on them a little later :)

Im liking this game so much. I kinda got carried away yesterday and took out colossi 5-10. 8 was the first one that I found to be a real challenge.

Yep, it's a very addictive and hard to resist continuing. I too am ahead, but won't say how far. ;). I only ask that we limit the discussions to the colossi for the previous week in terms of spoilers.

Fair enough.

Thanks everyone, I will give it another go tomorrow :)  I haven't put down Suikoden so this gives me a reason.

Same here. I have been sidetracked by Suikoden and the fact that my son is off school for the summer and old enough to competently play some games. So if I am not watching him play, (or playing with him), and gaining a new perspective on gaming, I am sucked into the RPG. ha ha. I hope to set aside a few hours to get to the 8th colossi by week's end.

Picking up after #4 
...and we still don't know what the hell is going on. I love it! One thing I don't love though is having to try 6 or 7 times to jump on the horse. It should auto-mount when you jump into it lol. 

5

Spoiler (hover to show)

Ha, seeing this I immediately think "Are you kidding me? It flys?" Now I have to find him huh...figured out where he was and after about 3 times of having to jump back on he was history! I liked the design of this one.

I've been riding to the next of the colossi for a while now. The fields and paths are beautiful. I found a super tall structure I climbed but nothing was on it. The trees kind of obstruct your view when you look out from the top of it, which sucks. 

The horse (what's his name? Agro?) was such a boss, I jumped off a ledge he couldn't go down & called him. He took of bolting the opposite direction & 20 seconds later he was in the field with me! He's a badass. Also I jumped a ledge he was able to do & he starts running insanely fast when you land. He hit a wall after that & got pissed off lol.

6

Spoiler (hover to show)

Arriving in the desert this is already my current favorite! We waltzed in like we owned the spot then I descended into the ruins like I was the pharaoh that put them together. 
Holy shit. (I accidentally fell off that huge ledge) did you guys hear that crumbling sound as this guy walked in?? That is the best sound effect I have ever heard. Seriously. The cement scraping while he walks in slo-mo. I'm terrified of this guy at this point. He's kicking my ass now too. It took like 20 minutes for the hint to show up. I kept thinking I needed to jump on his hand for a long time. He wasn't too difficult when I finally climbed up. 

Those eyes when he finds you hiding O_O 

I almost used a guide for 6 because the hint took forever to show up…these are getting hard LOL

Boshamp, let me just say this, "Your son will absolutely love watching you play SotC." He will think it is super bada#@.  My kids watch me play it and I can't wait to talk about their reactions to this game on the podcast.


I think that this is one of the most attractive features of the game. You are basically thrown into the middle of a story and have no clue as to what is going on. You have a horse, a dead girl, and a god-like voice telling you to kill big things to save this girl. It's fun to try to piece the story together as you go along, but I will say that you shouldn't expect to find out too much until the very end. I would like a little more, but at the same time, revealing more of the story is what pushes me to play.....doesn't hurt that this game is super cool. :)

Interesting that this game is the prequel to "Ico" (same developers), though Ico was released first. I considered doing both games this month, since Ico is even shorter and included in the PS3 pack, but thought better about it considering the length of Suikoden. I knew people would be very tempted to play both playthroughs this month.

Made it through the first four, man did #3 take a while! I tried the first level of this game back in college, and the HD version was pretty much as I remembered... Clunky controls and camera (but inverting the axes helped a ton!), beautiful character design, and no clue why I'm killing these things. This week I'll have to keep an eye open for some of these collectibles you guys are talking about, I probably would have gone the entire game without them if I didn't see that note in the thread.

It's been pretty quiet around here and I just wanted to check in to see how everyone is progressing. Is anyone having any trouble, or has everyone already secretly completed the game?

Also, just a little advice in in finding these "collectables" that theGrue mentioned above:

Spoiler (hover to show)

Though spread out all over, a majority of the fruits are located to the South. Silver-tailed lizards can be found crawling on top of every save altar. Just grabbing these can greatly increase your stamina, which is helpful in later/longer battles."

Just tackled the 12th Colossus last night.

Spoiler (hover to show)

8 and 11 have given me the most grief so far.

I am making a numbered list with descriptions of the colossi as I play through this game. We will really have to have our stuff together for the podcast. Ha!

I agree with #11 Mike. That guy is fast and trouble. If you get backed into a corner you can get trapped easily. I'm glad you brought this up because one that really bothers me about this game is how your character gets stunned. It takes FOREVER to get up and with bosses like this one, sometimes there is no way to escape as he pounds you over and over again until you're dead. I get that they are trying to keep the movements and characters realistic, but not having a change to right your situation is a little much.

I look forward to the podcast. I agree with you making a numbered list. I am plowing through this game rather quickly and not taking much time to smell the roses. This morning, Crabby told me how he liked the 10th Colossus, and I had to look up a video cause I had already forgotten which one it was. Really enjoying this game though. I played ICO years ago when it first came out and now, after this game, am in the "When does this Last Guardian game come out?"
camp.

I know. Several people I know are salivating over that one. The fact that this game doesn't at least have a sequel is a travesty. Who wouldn't want to play another form of this game?

I will probably agree when I finish, but I still need to see how the story concludes.

I have yet to find time to fire up this game but I shall soon!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'll be honest. Even if the ending completely sucked, I'd play this game again on badasss gameplay alone.

Absolutely.

Whew.. finally up to the week 2 checkpoint!!

I came back from my visit to Crabby's yesterday. We played some while I was there and took out the 6th to 8th Colossi. Now, back home, I've just beaten the 6th Colossus last night.

This game would be very fun to play with a friend, or even as Rich suggests, with your kids. The Colossus fights are very impressive visually and technically challenging so there's something for everyone to gush over and discuss.

I can't wait to finish the game and share my thoughts.

Awesome! How are you enjoying it?

Today marks the beginning of Week 3, which means we'll be taking on colossi 9-12. You may now discuss all battles with colossi 1-8. Happy Hunting!

Going for the 8th Collosus now. I'm almost back on track.

I really enjoyed the electric eel type boss. He's so much fun!

Took me a few minutes to figure out how to grab onto him. But you're right, fun battle with a different perspective to combat.

I forgot to mention that he's one of the couple Colossi so far which I've been hesitant to defeat. When you're on top of the bridge and see this boss calmly swimming in the water below it's tough to seriously want to defeat it.

This is one of those games where I need to put myself in the shoes of the character. Would I do this if it were my Wife/Daughter/Sister/Mother on the stone table?

Good call! That definitely helps.

Finished the game off last night. My son started watching around the 10th Colossi. He always wants to play whatever I am playing and constantly asks if he can have the controller. This was the only time he has ever just sat and watched. He would ask the occasional question, but for the most part he just seemed to enjoy the show, which was very out of character for him. I'll get a bit more into specifics when we get to the later checkpoints, but I think he really enjoyed it along with me.

13th Colossus is definitely my favorite. Can't wait to hear if anyone agrees.

How old is your son? I hope my son wants to both play and watch when he gets a little older. I learned a lot about gaming and how to think outside my box from watching my little brother play from time to time. I feel a lot of why I am so good at games was learning from both experience as well as spectating.

My son is 6 years old.

I'm just imagining your son sitting there watching you play.  ;D
Did he ask a lot of questions about the story that you were thinking to yourself and were trying to still solve? That sounds like a lot of fun, trying to solve the story together.

He would mostly comment on the Colossus or try to offer advice on how to reach certain areas. He was very helpful while looking for White-Tailed Lizards as well.

I forgot where one of the damage points was on the second last guy and my son was actually the one to point it out though.

That is awesome. A lot younger than I thought he would be. My son is 4 and with his attention span, I doubt he would sit there and watch me without losing interest and wanting to play some more Mario Kart with me or something.

I have some great stories about my kids watching the playthrough which I'll share later. My son just turned 3 and daughter is 6.

Gaius (#3) gave me a LOT of grief (even though I knew how to beat him), and I almost quit.  Glad I didn't, as the later Colossi reminded me why I enjoyed this game.

Gaius (#3) is sort of the first boss that has no real hint as to how to work your way onto him. With colossi #1 & #2, there are subtle hints on the leg and foot bottoms respectively. It's obvious that you need to run up the sword on Gaius since it is flat and stays in the ground for a while, but you can spend hours trying to find a way to traverse that bracer if you are unaware of how to shatter it. There are several colossi with armor that has to be broken and I think this is a really fantastic trope used in the game.

Probably the most aggravating of the colossi for me was Pelagia (#12). I know that this is the last colossi for the week, so I will keep my thoughts to myself regarding this one.

I think you're dead on it. I believe what this game does well is that it creates a story around you that is ill-formed and extremely minimalistic. Though that may not sound great on the surface, what it does is throw you into the middle of a story uninformed and makes you create your own interpretation of the events leading up to your current state. It also forces you to try and make sense of your actions and the consequences that might enfold from them. As a result, you want to play more and more to see what's going to happen; it becomes addictive.

This game is similar to the movies and books that I prefer; while some may like concrete stories with well-defined endings, I tend to prefer more abstract media with fragmented endings that leave you to interpret what may or may not happen next. I think media like this leaves more of a lasting impression on you and stays in your mind for days, weeks, and even months.

The "unknown" sort of becomes it's own character in this story and I find that fascinating.

Even though the game throws the player into the middle of the story the opening cinematic offers enough context to justify Wander's intentions. The beginning is open to speculation (how did the girl, I think Mono is her name, die? What's her relationship with Wander?) but the events of the game are pretty clear to me except for the shadowy figures in the temple.

This game offers more questions than it does answers.

Defeated the tenth colossus. What a scary battle. I've still got an adrenaline rush.

But darn.... those eyes...

[img width=300 height=385]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090521191051/t__/teamico/images/1/15/DirgeTemplate.jpg[/img]

Tell that Sand Tiger to stop staring at me! I'm Brian Fellows.

Holy cannoli was #11 difficult to find! I had to use the SotC wiki to find it. The battle itself was quite fun and not very challenging.

Spoiler (hover to show)

I liked how this Colossus was afraid of fire. Giving it an emotion certainly made understand the benevolence of the Colossi. As many others have pointed out most Colossi aren't harming anyone or anything until Wander comes in and disturbs them.

I'm glad you mentioned what Ico was banana. LOL i've been meaning to ask. Didn't know if it was related to SotC or just the same developer. Kinda cool that this is the prequel and I don't know the first thing about Ico's storyline.


7

I think I was going around in circles looking or this one FOREVER. At least I found around 10 or more lizards during that time heh. I guess I finally found it because I got a 3 second cut scene. This one was actually pretty easy. Funny how you lose stamina really deep in the water and it takes forever to float to the top ha. I liked this one a lot.

Trying to catch up on 8 now so I can get back on track this week.

***FYI, I removed your spoiler tag h1ghw1nd. Week 3 is upon us and since #7 fell within Week 2, we can discuss it openly.

I thought the water serpent battle was a great fight and it was very creative how they implemented this terrain. Your immobility underwater and spurts of running down the creature's back when it surfaced was exciting and very cool. I was a little surprised that when you ran out of air, you just released and floated to the top. I don't recall taking any damage for this. Kind of odd considering it's quite the opposite for most games.

One of my favorite parts of this game is looking for the colossi. I love the sudden cut scenes when you stumble upon them. Some are very serine, while others are so aggressive that you know the fight is immediately being taken to you.

I'm up to 15 and I'm waiting until the final week to take him down.  Been looking for lizards and fruit lately.  Should I post the pic of my health and stamina bar or is that kind of spoiler-y?

No, I think posting that is fine. Everyone knows what the lizards and fruit do you're not giving away any essential parts of the game.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/F3F1hZC.jpg[/img]

Max life bar and almost max stamina.

That's awesome. I bet you have no problems hanging on for long amounts of time.

I got shocked once by the electric eel Colossus, but that's because I lined myself up when it swam under me so I could grab its tail. I just tread water until the tail surfaced before I grabbed on for a wild ride.

Nope ;) the increased stats only apply to the story mode and new game plus though. Time attack always gives you default stats.

Damn bil, I haven't found one piece of fruit yet. I'm probably gonna end up paying for that soon.

#8 was killing my vibe last night. I'm about to give it another try. Any hints besides drawing it to higher ground? I'm trying hard not to use a guide but this guy is the first to actually damage me and kill me. I'm probably already paying the price for not searching for fruit *tear*

I will likely use a guide for the fruits and lizards to ensure I stand the best chance against all the colossi when I encounter them. I enjoy puzzles and difficult games a lot, so I won't mind struggling to solve some of the colossi on my own, but I don't want to do it with minimum health and stamina...that would just enrage me to die over and over because of something like that. I fell off the ramp like 7 times alone on the third colossus, I don't want to die repeatedly at the same one and have to suffer even more travelling...I am already behind enough on this play-through due to being sucked into Suikoden. I need to make sure I can catch back up. ha ha ha

Wooooow hold that thought I just destroyed him on my first try. The most annoying one in a way, he kinda seems like a final boss type with the patterns you have to use. Definitely the most satisfying to kill! Take that with your electric Sunkist breath!

Unless you are just going for the achievement, I wouldn't bother using a guide to find all of the fruit and lizards. I found enough fruit tracking my way to the colossi and just looking up in the trees that I passed along the way. Same with the lizards, I just stopped at every temple and collected to one at each of those. That resulted in plenty of life and stamina to get me through a normal game. I imagine that you might need a little more for hard mode.

In terms of dying, I kicked the bucket 3 times total during this game. Twice learning the controls in the beginning at the first colossi and the only other time with colossi #14 Cenobia after getting stuck in a corner. I never had any problems with dying and even though I fell from pretty great heights a few times when my stamina ran out, I never really took any significant damage. I know this may sound a little odd, but I thought the game was a little too easy in this regard. The puzzles were the most fun and challenging part, but taking the colossi down once you figured out how to get on them was pretty simple. Call me crazy, but I would have preferred more damage when falling from great heights and no regeneration during battle. I can't speak for the more difficult mode, since I have not played it on that setting yet. I'm sure that amps up the difficultly and something I look forward to accomplishing in the future.

#8 was a long and drawn out fight and a little tough at first to figure out. It's tough to get into a good position to fire at Kuromori and his acid/fire breath keeps you on the move constantly. Once you get him down, you get 1, maybe two stabs at the sigil if you are lucky. It's a long and arduous process for sure. Any time you have to use your bow, it creates an added challenge to the battle. However, I think that the developers did a nice job of implementing both weapons in this game both in puzzle solving and in outland play.

Some things you should check out when you get a change is associated fan artwork, tattoos, and even look over some of the colossi that didn't make the game. Apparently, there were over 20 that did not make the game. I can't understand why they didn't make a sequel to this game, but I assume it has something to do with fracturing the current story line.

[img width=612 height=612]http://i.imgur.com/jzdcRlz.jpeg[/img]

Highwind, are you still having trouble with the 8th Colossus?

In case this isn't related to the current discussion I've put my method into spoiler tags.

Spoiler (hover to show)

The battle takes place in a multi-level arena. The Colossus isn't aware of you when you walk in so use that time to get familiar with the arena. The best method is to use the stairs to go down to the third floor and approach a crumbled area. Whistle (X button) to get the Colossus' attention then run to next opening. Equip your bow and shoot the legs of the Colossus. It will fall and you just have to jump down to the bottom, run up and climb its tail to stab at the exposed weak spot on the stomach. Once you're shaken off run up to the stairs, crouch to heal if needed, go up to the third floor and repeat the process.

Be careful not to stand in one spot too long as the Colossus shoots electric bolts that affect a large area on impact.

Also.....

Spoiler (hover to show)

Once you knock him off the wall, don't bother going down the stairs as this takes too much time. Just jump off the ledge into the arena. You'll take a little damage doing this, but nothing sufficient.

That tattoo must have been very painful. I hear non-fleshy spots are uncomfortable areas to get tattooed. So maybe it's ironically appropriate.

I bet a thick black mist spurted out of this guy while he was getting tattooed. If it didn't, it should have.

i'm officially in on this one! very late i know, but i had hoped to try finishing Ico before starting this. it doesn't look like i'll get that done in time so i decided to just go ahead and start on this one. finished the first 3 colossi in one sitting.

That makes 18 people playing this one together!

New Record!!

I actually beat the 8th one immediately after posting that haha. As soon as he climbed up I made him fall and took the leap of faith to the bottom. I even got lucky once or twice and landed on him when I jumped. Now I'm on #9 and also hate him. LOL

#9 will give you plenty of headaches until you defeat it. My strategy was...

Spoiler (hover to show)

to use Agro to lure the Colossus over a geyser. He wouldn't stand right over the spout so I ran circles around him until he was in place. The geyser will cause the Colossus to lift two legs into the air at which point you have to get undernetat him and shoot the glowing spots near the feet. The Colossus will fall over allowing you to climb him in search of his weak spot.

#9

Spoiler (hover to show)

I finally got him over the geyser ha. i never had to shoot him with the arrow, i was able to jump up his legs every time. it seems like every colossus i come back to i kill rather quickly lol

Head over to http://www.theyetee.com/ to buy your SotC tee shirts!

[img width=700 height=324]http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o736/Fleach/sotcshirts_zps494afb37.jpg[/img] (http://s1340.photobucket.com/user/Fleach/media/sotcshirts_zps494afb37.jpg.html)

I've come across some other shirts online that are pretty badass. I'm not into the cartoony thing, but to each their own.

[img width=570 height=570]https://img0.etsystatic.com/013/1/7452486/il_570xN.451273944_leqw.jpg[/img]

Took out 9, 10 and 11 this afternoon.

What I find amazing about this game is how the environment manages to conceal all these epic arenas.

[img width=570 height=570]http://img0.etsystatic.com/011/1/5962018/il_570xN.452440852_42tu.jpg[/img]

So true. You just turn a corner and its like"holy crap!! How did I not know this was here??" The enviroment is amazing in this game.

#10 I had to finally use a guide. There is no way I would have figured out how to kill him. I'm gonna reach this weeks checkpoint tonight when I slay #12.

i beat #10 just now and i had to use a guide too, i got as far as figuring out

Spoiler (hover to show)

i had to run from it on the horse

but didn't understand what to do next

This is probably good news and bad news at the same time.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/23/5833700/former-last-guardian-devs-form-indie-studio-friend-foe-with-two-games

We may not see The Last Guardian, but at least we have Vane to look forward to.

A shame we'll never see Last Guardian. That really sucks since the trailers were phenomenal.

Don't say never. It hasn't been officially cancelled so it could still happen.

i don't have time to read the whole article right now but it sounded like the first paragraph was saying only some developers left The Last Guardian project, not that the whole project was abandoned.

Colossus 9 was not Basaran, it was collision detection. Eesh. It's a good thing that 10 and 11 were pretty neat, one more frustrating experience like that and I would have had trouble staying in the game. Excited to finish it out this week, though!

What an experience!

Just finished the game. The final battle was super tough! I got very lucky dodging the final Colossus's ranged attacks. I'm going to hold off from sharing thoughts until it's time to discuss the final four Colossi.

I also just finished.

Great game.

Congrats guys! I too finished the game. I did so a few weeks ago so that I could join the Suikoden playthrough.

I seriously think this has my favorite ending and overall story of any modern video game. 

Everyone seems to love this one so much, but as much trouble as I am having finding time while getting ready for vacation over the fourth...I might finish after I get back.

finished! loved it, though i had to use a guide on the final colossi as i was getting way too frustrated and couldn't figure out what to do.

That's OK. The final Colossus is rather frustrating, but you feel like such a champ when you defeat it.

I had loads of fun playing this and trying to interpret the story with you guys. Thanks for making this another fun playthrough.

Not going to give anything away here, but I really didn't like that ending. Ask me in 4 days why. lol

Really eager to hear everyone's thoughts on the ending in a few days. Seems like reviews are mixed. I like it. :)

i won't spoil anything but i'll say that although i liked the ending, it felt very predictable and somewhat cliche. for me the plot wasn't important though, this game is really made to be interpreted.

Well, June is over. Final thoughts on this game?

I'm a pretty outspoken supporter of this game.  The solitude of the world is very sobering.  The story is very understated.  No dialogue, VERY little exposition, and absolutely beautiful in story, music and substance.  In that way it is similar to another of my favorite games on PS3, Journey.  The game is wholly unique and I believe it is the reason why so many people are lamenting the absence of any news about The Last Guardian.

Hopefully we will soon hear about how outspoken you really are. :)

I can agree with techwizard, the ending was of course predictable and cliché.  In a way, I think it needed to be; while the game was not initially developed with the same design intent as it later became, as it stands now SotC is (at least to me) a meditation on solitude, grief, determination against "the gods"/fate/circumstance, and most of all, mourning.  

The setting tells the same story that the protagonist experiences in a larger form; arrogant sacrifice that may achieve a result, but at a cost that justifies the 'outer' forces' resistance to such acts.  There are subtle clues everywhere, from the purposeful ability to reconstruct details of a lost civilization by putting together the landmarks and set-pieces (the temple, coliseum, shrines, altars, etc.) to the outright narration in interludes.  Wander's experience is a microcosmic replay of Dormin's history in the Forbidden Land, and the results of those actions.

The commonly stated clues of most Colossus' indifference or even avoidance (as opposed to aggression) culminates in the playable section near the end, where the player finally tastes both the power and the helplessness of the great beasts, is by some seen as a cheap method to hammer home the point, but given playability is the great differentiating factor of this medium, for me it came across quite natural.  The odd solace of the Secret Garden, and the ending's tether to Ico, are pleasant nods that wrap the whole back upon itself in what I found to be a holistic experience seldom found in video games.

Anecdotally, I could listen to that soundtrack all day.  (Actually, I have; it's also a wonderfully powerful tool to write alongside.)

In what way was the ending cliche?

I'm glad I played it, and I get what the game means for the "games as art" cause, but would I recommend it? I don't know. The controls and camera are frustratingly clunky, and the final boss just drove it all home. Not to mention the ending... You control a big clunky monster that spends half its time turning around, then get to be yourself in a helpless struggle against wind. All in all, a weak note to go out on.

As far as the story goes, I don't know that I get what the ending was trying to say. You were working to revive a beast split into 16 parts, which then went down just as easy, if not easier than all the other colossi? I don't know.

I think the game hit it's high point for me just before the final battle. I hadn't ventured out that way yet, and just kept finding save points, fruit trees, and lizards. It had a really nice sense of serenity to it, almost as if you were supposed to linger for a bit before committing to what you knew was the end.

It had an almost anakin skywalker to vader thing going on that's fairly common. Hero tries to do good for someone he loves but in a selfish way that disregards all consequenses and he turns evil because of his actions and the corrupting influence of a power figure. It was predictable because of what happened after every battle, and the fact that the voice telling you what to fight (dormin's spirit?) Never actually said anything about saving the girl, it just said "you must destroy these icons" and you're like "alright sounds good!" Because again, blinded by desire to save the girl. It was clear the voice had other motives of dubious intentions.

That doesn't mean that i don't like the game, it was great. I just think the story was cliche and predictable.

I agree with Slackur 100%.

The game was a beautiful experience and I feel enriched having played it.

My interpretation of the game's content is: Wander, in a fit of reckless, selfish desire, stole the sacred sword and took the girl's body with him to Dormin's temple in an attempt to revive her. What he didn't know was that Dormin would be reawakened/reincarnated by Wander's actions. The Colossi weren't exactly gods, but they were more like giants which contained or guarded segments of Dormin.

Dormin is a variation of mythical and fokloric gods that will grant any wish at a price. In this cash the price was that the seal which prevented Dormin's return would be broken.

I have a theory that other characters before Wander tried to accomplish similar goals. What leads me to think this is the sense of utter ruin conveyed by the setting. There are various locations that are destroyed like the arena for the tortoise Colossus and the two temple dogs (the one which is afraid of fire and the one which forces you to climb to columns). In the universe of SotC Wander was the only character determined and strong enough to complete Dormin's trials.

Quick observation on the shadowy figures: We all know that with the fall of each Colossus another figure stood over Wander, but I also saw an additional dove around the girl every time a Colossus was defeated. Did anyone see that too?

Did anyone notice that Wander looked less human as the game progressed? He started to get black lines running down his face and he grew horns.

I disagree with the controls and camera being "clunky." I had no problems with navigating or getting crossed up as I played. This is just something you come to expect every time you play a 2D game that goes for a 3D effect, nothing new here. Honestly, I have more trouble  and get more frustrated with games like Mario 64 when it comes to the camera. And unlike N64 platformers, I never had foreground settings obstructing my view. I don't know how much some of you used the L1 or other camera adjustments, but for me, once I got into my groove with them, they were instinctive and I had no issues. I should say that I played it on the PS2, so no idea if this made a difference or not.

Was the story cliche? Maybe just a bit. I think that even though you don't get a lot of backstory, you know that what you are doing is wrong in some sense and I believe this is on purpose. Sure, we know that some thing sort of tragic is going to happen in the end, but we are left to wonder what that might be and that's what keeps us playing. Not knowing the relationship between the hero/anti-hero and the girl is a great touch to this game, since it causes to you make these assumptions and question what things you would fight for and what reasons you might have to defy utilitarianism. It's not so much of game you play to get some pretty package with a bow all wrapped up ending, it is a philosophical game that causes you to evaluate things in your own life that are important to you and worth fighting for no matter what the cost.

With that said, I agree that the monster form and wind tunnel at the end don't serve any real purpose in gameplay other than to forward the story. However, these moments being as interactive as they are seek to continue to make you feel a part of the game, even though your actions are futile; and maybe that's the point.

All in all, I don't think you could ask for a more BADASS game than this. Stalking down and defeating giant colossi with merely a sword and bow is such an awesome concept. I agree with Bil, there's a reason that people are lamenting the continual absence of The Last Guardian and now I can see why. SotC is such a beautiful game on so many levels.    

i don't agree with the controls being clunky either, for the most part they were really fluid except the occasional problem with getting onto the horse. that was a minor issue though. the camera wasn't "bad" but it was frustrating at times. in a game that's so vast, not being able to zoom out manually with the camera was somewhat disappointing, as the auto zoom rarely happened when i would have liked to use it. L1 is only useful if you're far from the colossus, anywhere close up and it just disorients me with the amount it's whipping around to try following the colossus' head. i found at a distance alternating between L1 and L2 to see the colossus and then where i'm going really helped though. i also didn't like that you had to "hold" the camera control in place to keep looking at something, otherwise it just slides back down to the default view. mainly i'm talking about looking up or down. i always prefer systems that let you look in any direction without it moving on it's own and then using a button to reset the camera to default, like L3 or something.

overall though i totally agree with how beautiful this game is and i really like how open to philosophical interpretation it is. when i say i think the story is cliche and predictable i'm entirely talking about the plot as it played out, and that has little to do with how you interpret it in this game. i think if there was no dialogue (someone said there wasn't but i'm not sure why because there is it's just not english) and a better end sequence then it could have been more open to interpretation in terms of plot. as it is, i really just interpret the actions of the character in terms of why you're fighting these things and what could it be a metaphor for in life, things like that.

i agree with the badass comment

I finally beat this just now. I can't believe no one mentioned Agro falling :( I thought the ending was really good, especially with my boy coming back and walking all the way around the castle haha.

I guess I gotta play Ico now huh?

I would wait a few months if I were you ;)

If you wait, Highwind, you'll be able to play it with fellow RFGents.

Since I'm really excited for this game I'll leak the info. Ico for September Playthrough!

[img width=400 height=171]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110903063641/mythbusters/images/4/4a/Confirmed.png[/img]

Yep. We thought since we were doing the sequel to Suikoden in September, we would match these titles up again and do Ico, which was released before Shadow of the Colossus, but storywise, it is the sequel.

My son would have been traumatized by this event had he been in the room at the time. I thought bringing the horse back was kind of weak. I know that sounds cruel, but of all the things Wander sacrifices in an attempt to revive Mono, this should have also been another and a moment of reflection as to if what he is doing is the right thing. That and the gimpy horse was kind of odd. Just my my thoughts.

You're an anti-equine!

[img width=295 height=295]http://shirta.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/small_image/295x295/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/n/o/no-horse-d75835701.png[/img]

You can't trust 'em man.

That was my problem with the ending. The wanderer guy selfishly, ignores all warnings, kills 16 benevolent creatures as sacrifice to bring his lady love back, which he succeeds, at the cost of his own life and even worse, a gimp horse. Doubled by the fact, I have my own cat at home with a broken leg, seeing Agro come back at the end touched a nerve and really made me angry about everything I did and what it was all for. Sure he saved his lady but at what cost? My prediction is that, because she is stranded in this foreign land, with no seeming means of escape, she eventually has to kill and eat Agro for sustenance. That poor horse was the biggest hero of the game and did not deserve his fate. 

How do you know that Wander knew the stakes when he went to revive Mono? He was just told to slay the Colossi so he probably thought, "OK, Dormin is just testing me to see if I'm worthy of his magical revival powers."

Also, Phalanx had a baby and it flew Mono and the horned boy infant out of the forbidden lands. That's my facetious theory.

I think you have to put yourself in Wander's shoes and determine the gravity of the relationship between he and Mono. What I mean is that the lack of knowledge we had that lead up to these events forces us to create our own relationship between the two. I think that the game does this in an attempt to make you, the gamer, reflect on your life and what things you would fight for at all costs to save (i.e. What if that was your partner/child/etc. up on that altar?). Sure some of us have a utilitarian view from an outsiders perspective and may think what he is doing is careless, but if you were actually in a similar situation with your personal attachment, really, what would you do?

I agree with Floyd in that though Wander may have an inkling of knowledge as to what he is doing is bad, he does not know for sure, and perhaps even thinks he is sacrificing himself to save her, and not knowing it is at the expense of others.

Hmmmmm.............does this choice remind you of any other games we have played where others hated a not so utilitarian ending?? I'm looking your way "The Last of Us."

I felt bad about taking down some of the Colossi, but even I wouldn't go so far as to describe them as "benevolent".

A lot of games, and films, like to ask "what would you do to save the one you love?" The Last of Us, and Heavy Rain are two great examples of games that use that question to spur on the plot. SotC doesn't ask you that question, instead it takes place after the decision to save your loved one has been made and asks "Can you live with the consequences?"

Not sure if this was shared yet here but this video is really cool and I thought you guys might like it (this whole series is great if you've never seen it).

http://www.gametrailers.com/full-episodes/lqkol5/pop-fiction-the-17th-colossus

that's really cool, thanks for sharing!

I just finished listening to this podcast and this game sounds awesome!  I might have to get it but I have so many other games I need to play...

Trust me. You will not regret putting other games aside for this one.

it's cheap too! not hard to find for $10

I have Ico but I have crap at 4 different locations and don't know where it is.  I heard that is really good, too.

If you find your copy of Ico you're more than welcome to join that playthrough in September.

Shadow of the Colossus Movie is making some progress in development.

http://www.nerdist.com/2014/09/movie-morsels-shadow-of-the-colossus-gets-a-new-director-x-men-apocalypse-details-horrible-bosses-2-trailer-and-more/

cool! i didn't even know that was a possibility, that's awesome.