CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Have you guys ever played this awesome game?


Begin Rant :



This is seriously one of my favorite games of all time.... i bought it last month after wanting to buy it for about 4 years.... i only just got around to it... lame eh? anyway. I love this game... the storytelling is so... masterful. they tell you so little yet give you so much. I absolutely loved the story... it made me sad and happy and..... IDK everything at once.

the gameplay was freakin awesome. the graphics were incredible. the physics engine for it allows for some really awesome stunts... most are hard to do... but if you can utilize the physics then you can actually win battles in ways that they arent meant to be fought.
Its pretty awesome.

that and the vast beauty of the world.... i explored for hours and hours. I still havent found everything. After over 15 hours of playtime...

Finally it has TONS of replay value.... from Time attack mode after you beat the game and the items you unlock that are unavailible in the first playthru.... then the hard mode and the hard time attack mode after you beat hard mode. you can play the game 4 times and still have something new each time... =D



ANYWAY, your thoughts?











P.S. My avatar tells you how much i liked the game XD

Fantastic game, the storytelling was very well done. Very subtle. For there time the graphics were very good. The physics, well i never noticed anything other than goofy horse physics XD

I love the game. My Dad and I actually tracked down its predecessor, Ico, another excellent game.

Personally, just the very concept of climbing and fighting colossi is one of my favorites, so a game focused on it is bound to be a top 5. [spoiler]To a happy ending-sucker like me, it was a little rough, though. I spent 10 minutes trying to escape the vortex. XD[/spoiler]
Dad and I played it completionist style, getting all the fruit and lizards, as well as the equipment and finding the secret garden.
I have heard rumors of a collector's pack for PS3 including SotC and Ico...

GrubbTheFragger (post: 1499465) wrote:. For there time the graphics were very good. The physics, well i never noticed anything other than goofy horse physics XD

I personally thought the graphics were actually ahead of their time, and as for the horse they were going for something pretty realistic. Although some horses in real life, would probably react faster than Agro did.

I actually got back on this game not long ago and playing LoZ: OoT MQ at the same time.

SOTC has one of the coolest pause transitions and game intros! :p

It's a really good game. I believe someone once said, "If the Final Fantasy series is the novel, then Shadow of the Collossus is the poem."

The sheer atmosphere of the game combined with its minimalist style of storytelling is absolutely fantastic.

Not to mention that the bosses are pretty cool too. And it's one of the few games where I actually felt bad killing those majestic creatures.

DAT BOSS DEATH MUSIC.

Ooh, seeing this made my day.

Yes, one of my favorite games. Lots of replay value, lots of beauty (has to be one of the most realistic looking games on the PS2), and nice controls. It took me awhile to get used to it, because I had never played a game like it before. I mean, even though FF is close... it's not quite it. I wish they'd make a second one.

I've been wanting to play this game for quite a while now. Trouble is, I don't have a PS2 so I can't play it. Yet. I'll probably get around to it once I can afford to buy a game console just to play one game. And from what I've heard of this game, it would be worth it.

Can't wait for the ICO & SotC Collection in September. Then The Last Guardian.

This is one of my favourite games ever. The challenge of defeating the collossi, the game's world, the minimalist story and the music just made the game excellent.

Amazing game is Amazing, really I don't think I can add much more to what's already been said.

TGJesusfreak (post: 1499460) wrote:that and the vast beauty of the world.... i explored for hours and hours. I still havent found everything. After over 15 hours of playtime...

The only thing that sounds weird is this, most games when having tons of time, like the Final Fantasy series, Tales of... series and many more have over 80+ hours of gameplay, there's no doubt this game is fun, and would be cool to try, but with only that little time, it must be very quick and the story must be pretty good.

Furen wrote:The only thing that sounds weird is this, most games when having tons of time, like the Final Fantasy series, Tales of... series and many more have over 80+ hours of gameplay, there's no doubt this game is fun, and would be cool to try, but with only that little time, it must be very quick and the story must be pretty good.

Please note that I'm not picking on you specifically, it's just that this post brings me to make a point. . . .

Since when was ten to fifteen hours of gameplay not enough? That's pretty sizeable compared to what we used to have, and a great story can still be told in even half that amount of time. Most games that boast near-endless hours of play, I end up just getting bored with and moving on to something else.

But that's a serious bunny trail of off-topicness. It might well be worthy of a new thread, but I don't feel like making one right now.

Htom Sirveaux (post: 1500382) wrote:Since when was ten to fifteen hours of gameplay not enough? That's pretty sizeable compared to what we used to have, and a great story can still be told in even half that amount of time.

Oh, I don't disagree with you there, those games can be quite boring, but many have great ways to keep you entertained if it's a good game.
Fifteen hours is enough, especially with TG bringing up that it's a really good game for replay value.

I also did say it must have a good story line if this many people like it, and was told in a shorter time than those 80+ games.

I just brought that up because he made it sound like he thought it was a long game.

Shadow of the Colossus is an amazing game. I have never actually been able to beat it as I don't own a PS2 and lack sufficient means to play it properly, but from what I have played it's definitely a game I'd absolutely love all the way through.

Its soundtrack is absolutely amazing and really helps the atmosphere of the game. Music like this coupled with climbing gigantic, sloth-like beasts really makes you feel "epic." Much more so than you might think thanks to the overuse of that word lately.

Rusty... Your spoiler...

You and me both, man. You and me both. *cries*

The only nit that I have to pick with that game is the inconsistent size of the Colossi. After you've fougt some that are the size of the freaking Trump Tower, it's hard to get excited about fighting those that are merely the size of an elephant.

Htom Sirveaux (post: 1500728) wrote:The only nit that I have to pick with that game is the inconsistent size of the Colossi. After you've fougt some that are the size of the freaking Trump Tower, it's hard to get excited about fighting those that are merely the size of an elephant.

It's about mixing it up and keeping the experience fresh. It requires you to think differently after being used to fighting massive bosses.

Whenever I start talking about SotC, there are two things that happen: A) I start yammering away about ICO, and B) I start feeling very stupid XD

I have to talk about ICO because it's the game that came first, it debatably has a direct connection to the story of SotC, and it's actually the one I prefer of the two. Lemme put it this way: SotC captured my interest and imagination...but ICO captured my heart. To me, SotC felt like I was removed emotionally from the protagonist, like a Hemingway story, but ICO felt like an intimate limited third-person POV. Yorda affected me more deeply than any other video game character, and...I really missed that in SotC. I realize other people might have different experiences, but that was mine. One thing's for sure, though: If you haven't already, everyone in this thread needs to play ICO. Liek, nao.

And I feel stupid whenever SotC comes up in conversation because I've had to read two plot analyses and talk about it with several different people, and I still feel like I missed a whole bunch. Maybe I just had a hard time understanding and remembering the subtitles, or maybe I just took too long to play the game (because the Colossi are freaking hard, hello! ) and forgot a bunch of stuff, but I feel like I can only understand the story in hindsight. I certainly never felt sorry for the Colossi, which makes me feel like a monster (I might have felt a bit of pause with the flying sand dragon, since it didn't fight back, but I think I was more relieved it wasn't trying to kill me, lol.)

But yes, this is a very good game. The graphics and sheer scale of this game is just phenomenal for when it was made. There were way more annoying glitches than in ICO (one time, the main character actually disappeared completely and wouldn't come back until I reset the game), and the camera was annoying as anything, but still. Wonderfully fun to play. The horse animation is positively the best I've seen in a game yet (of course, the only other games I can think of that have animated horses are Zelda and Assassin's Creed, so...). And the music. THE MUSIC!!! That is the definition of epic.

So, guys, what would you say your favorite Colossus is? I really like all the "snake" kinds, but I have to count the last Colossus as my favorite. I mean...dude. He's a freaking mountain And I also have found the perfect spot to grab onto his head so that when he whips around, I can still hold on and keep stabbing.

the_wolfs_howl wrote:Yorda affected me more deeply than any other video game character, and...I really missed that in SotC. I realize other people might have different experiences, but that was mine.

But . . . [spoiler]Agro . . . [/spoiler]
Seriously, have you no soul?

As for a favorite Colossus, mine was the Dragonfly. Spectacular creature, amazing fight.

And I feel stupid whenever SotC comes up in conversation because I've had to read two plot analyses and talk about it with several different people, and I still feel like I missed a whole bunch. Maybe I just had a hard time understanding and remembering the subtitles, or maybe I just took too long to play the game (because the Colossi are freaking hard, hello! ) and forgot a bunch of stuff, but I feel like I can only understand the story in hindsight. I certainly never felt sorry for the Colossi, which makes me feel like a monster (I might have felt a bit of pause with the flying sand dragon, since it didn't fight back, but I think I was more relieved it wasn't trying to kill me, lol.)

Well, all the plot I needed was that Wander's girl had died and he was doing all he could to bring her back, even at the cost of himself if need be. I can't remember if dailogue supports this, but it seems she died in an unjust manner, maybe even at the hands of the other dudes. So that was all the plot i needed to take it to 'em.

As for feeling bad for the colossi, they were just constructs used to seal the shadow guys away, so I didn't feel bad taking them down. Besides just the normal empathy for something experiencing pain.

The knight and the guy with the beard were the most memorable for me.

Anyone else grab the salmon?

Htom Sirveaux (post: 1501000) wrote:But . . . [spoiler]Agro . . . [/spoiler]
Seriously, have you no soul?

[spoiler]Funnily enough, I found myself grieving a human being far more than a horse But no, I was like, "Oh, that's sad! " when Agro fell off the cliff. But all through ICO, I was hovering around Yorda and freaking out and talking to her as if she could hear me. The first time I let her get caught, it plagued me with so much guilt that I didn't like to leave her side for more than a couple seconds after that. Whereas with Agro, I never had to worry for his survival or well-being. He was just my trusty, stalwart horse. He'd come when I whistled, and even when Colossi practically stomped him to death, he'd get back up again. Yorda...she can die from much less than falling off a cliff (and Agro didn't even die when that happened! XD).

Maybe part of the difference is that you're responsible for Yorda. There's no way she could survive without you. Whereas Agro is an animal that you own (or have stolen, at least), and it's obvious he can fend for himself even after the main character is dead. He does what you ask him to (most of the time, when he doesn't get stuck on the edge of a cliff) because he's been trained that way. Yorda does what you tell her to (most of the time, after a bit of coaxing now and then) because she's your friend and she trusts you.[/spoiler]

I don't know if all of that even needed spoiler tags, but whatever. Out of curiosity, have you played ICO?

This is one of the first games I bought when I bought the PS2. But, I haven't really played it yet ....

the_wolfs_howl wrote:Out of curiosity, have you played ICO?

Indeed I have, and I can see your point. I did the same thing with Yorda. I found it both charming and frustrating when I was trying to keep her with me, then I'd turn around to find she'd scampered off, distracted by the pretty birdies. XD

And I'm doing the spoiler thing in case someone reads this thread who hasn't played SotC yet.

[spoiler]But I think Agro's apparent (though as it turns out, not) death impacted me just as much as anything with Yorda, because he's your faithful, reliable steed. True, you never have to worry about him dying in gameplay or running away, and he always comes when you call. But that's just it. You can count on him being there for you. And in some cases you really need his help to beat a Colossus. He's not just your horse, he's your best friend.
Seeing him again at the end of the game was bittersweet, because it's great to know he's still alive after all, but terribly sad to see this proud, strong, noble beast holding one broken leg in the air and limping. But it's also impressive when you remember everything Wander and Agro have been through together, all the times when Agro should have been crushed or just collapsed from sheer exhaustion, and you reflect that it took falling off a cliff for him just to break his leg. That's one tough horse.[/spoiler]

Rusty Claymore (post: 1499555) wrote:I love the game. My Dad and I actually tracked down its predecessor, Ico, another excellent game.

Personally, just the very concept of climbing and fighting colossi is one of my favorites, so a game focused on it is bound to be a top 5. [spoiler]To a happy ending-sucker like me, it was a little rough, though. I spent 10 minutes trying to escape the vortex. XD[/spoiler]
Dad and I played it completionist style, getting all the fruit and lizards, as well as the equipment and finding the secret garden.
I have heard rumors of a collector's pack for PS3 including SotC and Ico...

THIS XD

Yamamaya (post: 1499800) wrote:It's a really good game. I believe someone once said, "If the Final Fantasy series is the novel, then Shadow of the Collossus is the poem."

The sheer atmosphere of the game combined with its minimalist style of storytelling is absolutely fantastic.

Great quote! =O

Htom Sirveaux (post: 1499815) wrote:Can't wait for the ICO & SotC Collection in September. Then The Last Guardian.

I would buy a PS3 just for those 3 games.... XD

Furen (post: 1500354) wrote:The only thing that sounds weird is this, most games when having tons of time, like the Final Fantasy series, Tales of... series and many more have over 80+ hours of gameplay, there's no doubt this game is fun, and would be cool to try, but with only that little time, it must be very quick and the story must be pretty good.

Htom Sirveaux (post: 1500382) wrote:Please note that I'm not picking on you specifically, it's just that this post brings me to make a point. . . .

Since when was ten to fifteen hours of gameplay not enough? That's pretty sizeable compared to what we used to have, and a great story can still be told in even half that amount of time. Most games that boast near-endless hours of play, I end up just getting bored with and moving on to something else.

But that's a serious bunny trail of off-topicness. It might well be worthy of a new thread, but I don't feel like making one right now.

Furen (post: 1500384) wrote:Oh, I don't disagree with you there, those games can be quite boring, but many have great ways to keep you entertained if it's a good game.
Fifteen hours is enough, especially with TG bringing up that it's a really good game for replay value.

I also did say it must have a good story line if this many people like it, and was told in a shorter time than those 80+ games.

I just brought that up because he made it sound like he thought it was a long game.

I just meant that it has a lot of exploring. not that it was a long game ^^]The only nit that I have to pick with that game is the inconsistent size of the Colossi. After you've fougt some that are the size of the freaking Trump Tower, it's hard to get excited about fighting those that are merely the size of an elephant.[/QUOTE]

meh... the Lion and tiger scared the SNOT out of me XD... so yeah.

TGJesusfreak wrote:meh... the Lion and tiger scared the SNOT out of me XD... so yeah.

The lion was infuriating, man. Moved too dang fast and hit too dang hard.

Did anyone else beat all the time trials on medium AND hard for the items? That third colossus...took me forever to beat in under 3 min on hard. And being able to climb up to the secret garden was a cool extra feature.

Esoteric (post: 1513059) wrote:Did anyone else beat all the time trials on medium AND hard for the items? That third colossus...took me forever to beat in under 3 min on hard. And being able to climb up to the secret garden was a cool extra feature.

So I was le scrolling this page and I THOUGHT I saw Adam Jensen.

So I scrolled down... and I was correct.

Yay. I like your userpic.

Oh yeah. On topic. Yeah I'm probably going to pick up the ps3 remastered version pretty soon!

Mr. SmartyPants wrote:So I was le scrolling this page and I THOUGHT I saw Adam Jensen.

I'd totally like to see Jensen take down a Colossus. He could so do it.

Yeah, the HD collection. I'm debating. On the one hand I'd love to check this out. On the other I don't have nearly as much free time as I used to so I have to decide if I should really spend the time and money replaying two games I've already exhausted, or y'know get something more important done. I feel the same way about the announced HD Z.O.E. 2nd Runner release. Loved that game, but....

Ah. Well I never played either of them so here's my chance.

Mr. SmartyPants (post: 1513491) wrote:Ah. Well I never played either of them so here's my chance.

Oh, well in that case I totally recommend you get them!