Shadow of the Colossus is one of the most talked about games in gaming, everyone respects this game and for good reason, I'll be honest this isn't the most fleshed out game in my opinion since their our some bad mechanics in the game, but the game speaks volumes what do I mean by that? Play and find out for yourself, this is one of the most original games I have ever played, the Story and Presentation are flawless along with a perfectly executed ending makes this game more then worth the purchase.
Story: The story seems simple but its not as simple as you might think, I might go as far as to say this may be the best story in a game ever. The story starts off with our main protagonist Wanderer who has his dead Wife in his arms he goes to a forbidden place with a magical sword to start a ritual in hopes to be able to revive his Wife to do so he is told by a spirit by the name of Dormin that he must kill 16 beasts around this area in order to revive her, These 16 beasts he describes are known as Colossi or a colossus. This is just the beginning of the plot and I will describable the rest of it later on in my review.
Presentation:The presentation in this game is top notch I mean literally one of the best in gaming. After defeating every Colossi the game literally makes you wonder who the real monster is you or the beast you slayed, this is what makes the game so great is the way it makes you answer questions like this, they don't have to story tell in the game they make you figure it out. The graphics in this game are amazing for the Ps2 and not only that but the design of the Colossi are some of the most creative designs of bosses in a game. The soundtrack in the game not only again one of best in gaming but its therapeutic in the way that it makes you feel exactly the way they our trying to portray you to feel in the actual story. I don't need to say it but the presentation a masterpiece.
Gameplay: The basic gameplay of this game is to find the Colossis weakness and exploit it once you do so you climb atop it find its sigils(or vitals, or weak point whatever you want to call it) and attack them with your sword and then soon after you will take them out, each Colossi has its own pattern and you must take them out in a Different way, the game mechanics are a little bit iffy when it comes to climbing these beasts but once you get used to them you will get over it. I want to talk about each Colossi so I am going to make a list of the top 16 Colossi and why I like them.
16.Cenobia: A lot of people seem to like this Colossi, but I found the actual puzzle to the this Colossi annoying and i'll tell you why. After he knocks down all the platforms you have to climb from the ground up to the top of the other building, but the big problem is that if you get knocked back by this guy you will take forever to get up and once you do he will knock you over again until you die, what a joke! and guess what? after he kills you, you have to start the whole battle again! This is a Colossi I would like to forget.
15.Pelagia: Unlike Cenobia the problem with this Colossi is not the actual puzzle of defeating him but having to wait for him to get near you to attack him this battle literally probably took me an hour just to defeat the guy because he was just wandering around the area, the battle itself is just tedious as all hell.
14,Celosial: Celosial is basically the same as Cenobia or at least his design is, this boss battle is no where near as bad as Cenobia's but the reason it's so low on the list is its simplicity the boss battle consists of lighting a torch and the colossi will slowly walk away from it with fear you knock him off the edge and he will fall quite a ways down you can then jump on his weak spot he's pretty easy to beat, he also suffers from the same problem Cenobia has when he will continue to knock you down but at least in this area their are more spots where he cant get at you.
13,Kuromori: Kuromori isn't anything really special either hes a giant lizard that climbs walls that you must shoot down with your bow you jump down and stab at him and thats pretty much it with him once he climbs back up he will try to spray you with some type of poisonous gas which is pretty easy to avoid, he's an alright Colossus
12,Basaran: This is another alright Colossus battle Basaran can be quite annoying because the way you must beat him can be unfair, because you have to get him just exact on the springs below him or he wont fall over, so you can climb on him. He's also very overpowered also, his projectile attack will deplete tons of your health and their isn't much of a way to dodge this but his design is really cool and it is pretty cool climbing up his back.
11,Barba: Barba is a pretty simple colossus to beat but I really found his design cool and I just liked the idea of the boss fight, he may not be the best boss in the game but this is definitely one that is at least a little memorable.
10.Gaius: Gaius is really the first actual colossus that is a challenge while the other two are more of getting you ready for the game, I really like this colossus, he's pretty strong and I liked the idea of him hitting the sword on the ground and braking his brace on his elbow so you could climb up, this one is not only a fun boss fight but an interesting one at that.
9.Valus: Why is Valus so high on the list when all he is, is basically a tutorial well I would hope many of you would agree with me on him being this high, The reason I put him this high on the list is because I will never forget that moment where you see this first colossus in the game the feelings that go through you when you see this massive beast is something I cannot describe in words so yeah maybe he shouldn't be this high on the list for a boss battle per say but Valus holds a special area in my heart with this game.
8.Quadratus: Quadratus is another starting colossus to get you ready with the game, their isn't really anything special with his battle, but I really liked the battle, I like his design, I like moving around this massive Colossus, sure the battle is easy, but I just found this colossus charming and I liked the boss battle.
7.Phalanx:Phalanx is one of the most diverse colossus designs yet and not only that but one of the most diverse boss battles of the game also, believe it or not this Colossi doesn't really attack you but he definitely doesn't just give you the fight either, I won't spoil the details on how to fight this boss but I'll just say that it's a lot of fun.
6.Malus:Malus is the final colossus and he makes the word colossus seem like its small, he is literally massive, his design is incredible the atmosphere to the battle is incredible he is also a great boss for the most part my only big problem with this boss battle is if you fall most likely you are going to have to climb all the way up and that can take quite a while to do, but besides that this is an amazing Colossus to battle.
5.Argus: Their really isn't a whole lot of strategy to Argus but I really just like his design, and I liked the fact that this guy was literally after you and ready to mess you up he will literally chase you, compared to other colossi who just don't take you as much of a threat this guy does not mess around. I like the way he destroys the bridge in the battle and while simple, I did like the boss battle also.
4.Dirge: I found dirge to be quite a fun boss battle, being able to shoot from Agro and making him run into the wall is so satisfying and I just found this battle to be a lot of fun.
3.Phaera: I know many might disagree on how high Phaera is on the list but his design is one of my favorites on the list and not only that but this colossus is super smart, I mean seriously the AI they put on this Colossi is outstanding, he will literally look for you and if you don't stay out of sight this battle could takes hours, and while that may not be too great too newcomers for a player that has played the game at least once will see it oppositely, The boss battle is pretty easy once you get used to what you have to do but I just found it pretty cool.
2.Avion Avion is again one of my favorite designed Colossi and not only that but I really liked this boss battle cause it really felt like you were flying at the speed of light on this guy, and not only that but he will flip and you will be hanging upside grabbing on his fur, this is so cool it really probably shouldn't be a big deal but I really think this part in the battle is awesome.
1.Hydrus: I'll be honest I have never like the thought of something swimming under me, even if it is just a video game but that doesn't stop me from loving this boss battle, holding on to this guy while going underwater is quite the sight to see and I just like traveling on him while I tried to finish him off, their really isn't a whole lot I can say for a reason that I like this colossi so much but I just liked fighting this guy he was a lot of fun,
(Spoiler Alert) The execution to the ending of this game is perfect could not have been done better. So basically as you return after beating the final colossus you are met by Lord Emon(A character that not much is know about) and he basically is saying not only did you steal the sword in you hand but also that you shouldn't be doing this ritual because its a curse they shoot Wanderer with an arrow and even end up stabbing him in the chest. once the sword is removed blackness comes out of Wanderer like it does the Colossi when they are stabbed, it ends up that Dormin was using Wanderer as a pawn and now he is taking over his body, Lord Emon and his men run away and take down the bridge so that nobody can come to this land and also puts some sort of spell on the water in that little area in the temple it pulls Wanderer in and Lord Emon says that hopefully he will atone for his sins. The Credits roll and you finally get whats going on, all those colossi you defeated were protecting this land and they were also keeping Dormin from running wild and creating Chaos, and the credits show all the colossus just dead on the ground and what you have created this begs the question of what I said before who is the real monster Wanderer or them, well I think now Wander obviously but, you have to feel sympathy for the guy cause all he was trying to do was trying to revive the one he loved, The game displays this ending so well to the player it's not black and white, they make you really make out the ending on your own, After the credits roll, you will see Mono wake up and I also forgot to mention that Agro was believed to be dead near the end but he is alive, even though he might as well be dead cause he literally limping really bad, they go over to that little spring in the temple to find a baby with horns I guess this is symbolizing Wanderer being reborn but I do have to admit it is quite strange, and that's it that's the end of Shadow of the Colossus an amazing ending to an amazing game.
Overall Shadow of The Colossus is one of the most talked about games, and for good reason too, it was a milestone in gaming, a fresh new idea with a fantastic story, presentation, and gameplay that is unmatched against most games even today.