8th Colossus

A tail trapped within a pail
deep within the forest...
A shadow that crawls on the walls.

Developer Name: Yamori_B

Fan Name: Kuromori (Parietinae Umbra) - Wall Shadow

Location Name: Underground

Map Reference: G6

Colossi 8 hints

- Find a way to seal its quick movement...

- Draw it out to higher ground...

Kuromori climbing its ruined arena

Entrance to the lizard colossi's arena

The first thing I noticed after Dormin's introduction was the lack of a forest. The gecko colossi's arena is said to be 'deep within the forest', but once through the cave there are only a few trees to be seen surrounding a small lake, hardly a forest. So perhaps there once was a larger forest that over time has receded into the copse of trees we see now.

Once you enter the cave a bridge can be seen next to a majestic waterfall

Bridge Comparisons

Once I had obtained the NTSC version I immediately noticed a difference between the bridge in the PAL version to the NTSC version. It's worth mentioning as the rest of the game is virtually identical in both versions, so why did they change the bridge in the PAL version?

NTSC (US) version - you can see it has a void on either side

PAL (European) version - is joined to the wall with a void on only one side

Enclosed cave with waterfall - light streaming in from above

There's this solitary stone pillar on the bridge inscribed with enigmatic symbols

NTSC bridge - below is nothing but water vapor and oblivion

An inland lake becomes visible through this dark pass

Temple Island

Once across the bridge you enter a small inland lake area with a temple on the far side. Here we can see more stone pillars, some fallen or broken, guiding the way to the colossus. You can swim across the lake to the other side or go around it.

Wander riding a fish in the lake

Wander riding a different fish in the lake

There appear to be two species of fish in this small landlocked lake. Both are huge in comparison to Wander, at least 7 feet long or more! One resembles some kind of large sturgeon, the other a type of tadpole shaped fish? I'm not an expert on marine life, so if you have any thoughts about what these fish might be based on please leave a comment below. But it's fun to grab onto these fish (by holding R1) and let them take you for a ride through the murky water.

Temple lake forest - is this what Dormin was describing?

Wander covering his face (to avoid poison gas?)

If you watch this short segment of the NICO video you can see how Wander is covering his face with his left arm as he turns Agro away. It's the same animation we see when fighting Kuromori when Wander is covering his face to protect himself from the poisonous gas. So my idea is this might be where you fought an early version of the Gecko (Yamori A)? So if the green bar represents the colossus health icon then it would appear that in the above image Wander is very close to a colossus perhaps it's just out of frame?

See this part of the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEjfpV3YJtE#t=184

There is no forest in the final version where you fight the Gecko, it lives in a Roman style Colosseum so perhaps you once fought it in a forest. Since the G2 forest was added very late in development it's unlikely it was that forest, I failed to find a match with the video at the Autumn forest at E5 either. However, the forest we see in the opening cut scene seems to have the same style trees and rocks, but again I couldn't find an exact match (see below image).

 Same rock and tree as seen in the video from the opening cut scene

So it seems some of the colossi that made it into the retail versions still have their old 'Dormin introductions' that were from early builds. There are other examples that I won't go into here.

Broken columns next to shallow lake

The ruined temple sits on a small island in the lake

You can Agro launch onto the temple in the NTSC (US) version of the game. I've yet to make it there in the PAL version (nor has anyone else to my knowledge) as the devs decreased the amount of room you can move Agro back in the lake, so when you try to Agro launch up there you don't have enough run up. But once up there you can explore its ruins and get some great views of the area, which to my mind is one of the most beautiful in the game.

Standing on the temple view

Broken area overgrown with vines and ferns

Back of the temple - what looks like a door stands out

As I first played the PAL version I could never get up here, try as I might I just couldn't make it - not even close. So I was puzzled by a Baxtertimewell video on the web that showed him launching up onto the temple. I later found out he was using the NTSC version, so I obtained a copy and tried again with instant results. Once up there it's clear it's an off limits area as Wander sinks into the textures and there are no grippable edges. But the back door intrigued me at first, if only there was a way to open it... sadly it's just another decorative feature, nothing more.

Temple entrance leads down into the...

Anti-chamber

Upon entering the temple you arrive in a large anti-chamber with two enormous columns both topped with fire at their summits. You can climb the columns but not high enough to reach the flames, it only allows you to get to a higher platform which will lead you to the colossus.

Twin fire pedestals

Wander on top of a fire column - only possible via hacking

It was thought by many that if you could get the stick from 11's area (Celosia) and bring it here, climb up to the very top of the column and light the stick that something might happen... a secret might be unlocked! Apart from the fact that you can't climb to the top of the column in the first place to even test this theory, nothing happens anyway, the stick does not catch fire. 

See video: https://youtu.be/92vOVxj4x9A?t=1733

On the wall is this large cryptic medallion, similar to the one found at 11's arena

Strange, map like designs can be seen carved into the stone walls

Totem pole type structure next to medallion

Top of anti-chamber looking down - there's a small piece of walkable land up here

Ancient Colosseum

Finally you have made it to the colosseum, the abode of the gecko colossus. It's a strange place as it clearly has windows in which to look down at the central arena, but no seats of any kind... so unless the spectators stood around in groups looking down through the windows it must have served another purpose. Perhaps it was built to hold the colossus and people in times past came to view it as in a zoo? Although from Wander's experience it wouldn't have been very safe place as the colossus could climb the walls and shoot the spectators!

Kuromori Before Activation

If you float past the trigger point (via hacking) you can stand in front of the gecko in its frozen state. Only the back end of its tail is solid in this state and it seems to be frozen mid step - as if it was walking and suddenly stopped.

 Standing on solid tail

Frozen in mid stride before activation

This got me wondering... if the gecko starts out frozen like this, then it must have been originally designed for another area, i.e. a forest! Why else would its two left feet be raised above the ground like this? It's as if the gecko was designed to start in a different landscape where all four of its feet would be making contact with the ground. Remember, there was an earlier model of the Gecko labelled 'Yamori_A' which may have been used in a now deleted 'forest' area of the game (see further below).

Moving Kuromori Outside

I've had a lot of trouble getting the lizard outside its arena once it is triggered. There seems to be an invisible wall surrounding the whole area and no matter how far I warp it out, it springs back as if pulled back by an enormous rubber band! But I can move it around whilst it's frozen before activation... so I did and took some snap shots ; )

Kuromori in Anti-chamber

 
Too close for comfort!

Going for a swim

 Top of temple

Free at last!

I made a video where I moved Kuromori to different parts of the forbidden lands:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-KSufy4Atk

Other weird Hacks

I can lock one model and then view it from outside, this way you can see what each section of the area looks like from a unique perspective as shown here.

Floating fish

 Temple stairs leading down into anti-chamber and then the Colosseum

A tail trapped within a 'pail'

Early Designs
The development team names the Gecko colossus 'Yamori_B' so it begs the question what was Yamori_A and what did it look like? The answer is found in the art book. Below are some sketches from the art book, one image has the caption 'An early screenshot of gecko A', so it's clear that this design was yamori_A. Udea also states 'In early development, there were 3 different types of this colossus'. So perhaps there was also a Yomori_C?

Could this be Yamori_A?

Early designs revealed in the art book

An early screenshot of Gecko A - seems to be proof of Yamori_A

A differently patterned model for colossus 8 - from the art book

Here we see what could be the third design for the gecko. You can see it's a very different design with a weird T shaped face and moss (vegetation) on its back, much like we see with Pelagia (#12). Sadly the background of this image doesn't give much away as to the environment this gecko once lived (in this early build of the game). 

The only clue I have as to a previous gecko living in a forest is based on a few seconds of footage from the NICO dvd. It shows Wander covering his face with his arm as if there is poisonous gas nearby! This animation only happens in the fight with Kuromori. 

See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEjfpV3YJtE#t=3m10s

Symbols

This area has the most varied variety of different symbols and designs, as it has two temples to explore instead of one, the outer Anti-chamber and the Colosseum.

Kuromori Death Screen

Image you see when Wander dies during the fight with Kuromori.

4th Colossus

In the land of the vast green fields...
Rows of guiding graves...
It is giant indeed but fearful, it is not.

Developer Name: Kirin
Fan Name: Phaedra (Equus Bellator Apex) - Equus Prime
Location Name: Kirin's Hill\

Map Reference: G6

Colossus 4 Hints
- One strategy to consider is to hide thyself underground...
- Deceive the colossus to reach its back...
- Use thy sword to find its vitals...

Phaedra's area is one of my favorite places to explore. It's such a beautiful landscape, a large green field surrounded by forests and mountains on all sides. There's a tranquility to this place, you can hear the sound of water flowing in the distance and all seems quiet and serene.

But this is a place of death. Dormin speaks of guiding graves, but the only structures you can see are raised mounds above four tomb like entrances. These are arranged in a square so it's hard to see what Dormin meant by 'guiding' graves? In bronze age times (3000BC - 1200BC) people buried their dead under 'tumuli' or barrows, a mound of earth and stones raised over the grave, so this could be what the mounds represent.

One theory posted on the Playstation forums by SageApple (aka: RaisinGirl) suggests that the trees in the area mark the graves as they are lined up in ranks on either side of the field. If so, then whoever lay there have no grave stones to be remembered by, their names lost to history. The only signs of a language are some enigmatic symbols carved around the four stone entrances and the large stone platform Pheadra starts on. Perhaps this explains what befell these people and where they were buried - if only we could decipher them.

In the above sketch taken from the book that comes with the HD collector's edition box set, you can see the mounds started out quite differently. They have a conical profile with a spiral path that led around the structure from the ground to the top, but there doesn't seem to be any entrance to an underground chamber. At the lower left you can see a mound that resembles what we see in the game today, so perhaps they were playing with both ideas and settled on the more natural looking mound?

Below you can see the original mound design that was included in an early build of the game (taken from the NICO dvd) with strangely shaped towers in the background. The towers appear close enough to have been part of Phaedra's area and if you look closely you can make out a possible entrance to the structure. The towers look to me to be mounted on the roof of one large building or temple.

Update: 27th April, 2020

A user named Aith was playing around with the landscape 3D model of Phaedra's arena and noticed something significant! He noted "On each corner of Phaedra's platform the verticals are arranged in a distinct circular pattern that appears to have been hastily patched." This suggests that the four pillars we see in the above image were actually positioned at each corner of Phaedra's platform in the past, but were later removed. So I was close to think the towers were mounted on a temple (above)... turns out the pillars were mounted on Phaedra's platform!

3D model platform bases found by Aith

So the platform may have looked something like this?

Guarding the graves is the colossus, Phaedra. Looking like the corpse of some huge horse, its ribs and shoulder bones are exposed and two skeletal structures hang for either side of it's skull. How many thousands of years has it been here guarding the dead?

Phaedra starts hunched on its platform. It's the only colossus you can trigger from a distance (in the NTSC version only), that is before you pass the threshold that triggers in normally. Shoot an arrow at it and it will come to life.

See video here: https://youtu.be/6HiDvTVq1WU

In the NTSC version, Phaedra is completely solid before activation. All the other colossi have no substance except for a few small parts on some of them (like #1's club for example), but Phaedra seems intact. So you can climb all over it and it won't blink an eye.

You can also activate Phaedra by stabbing one of it's sigils. Note the strange symbols around the stone platform, is this some sort of ancient writing or just decoration? Perhaps it tells the tale of the dead in this area, how they were killed and why?

Micro Pheadra

This was part of my 'Odds & Ends video (part 5) I uploaded it on July 10th, 2014. In this video, I managed to reduce the size of Phaedra down by three times its scale! So it looked like baby Pheadra! I shoot an arrow at it, to wake it up, but it moves very strangely? Like it has not yet worked out how to walk? Much like when we see a baby giraffe take its first steps! Sadly I kill this new born Phaedra, only to realise that its mother is making its way towards me! What have I done!!!

See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKHm_Cvl0iU&feature=youtu.be#t=17m15s

Entrance Pit
The first thing you notice when you enter Phaedra's lair is a strange underground pit with paths leading down, it's right below where you enter the arena and has always puzzled players as it has no purpose in the game. At first I thought you could hide from Phaedra there (which it turns out you can) but Phaedra quickly loses interest and walks away. There's no way to lure Phaedra into the pit or even ride Agro down there, it's only accessible with Wander. Once down there you quickly realise there's nothing you can do except make your way back up again. There's some moss growing on the walls which you can climb but apart from that it's a totally useless area. My guess is that this area was probably planned to be for some purpose in early development that was later scrapped but they left it in game for the sake of novelty.

Paths leading down to a dead end

A small bridge can be crossed to the opposite side

Apart from this solitary rock the area is empty

Once down the bottom you reach a dead end

Ramp leading back up

Looking up from below

You can also climb out on some vines

The Catacombs

The main feature of the 'green fields' arena are four ancient tomb like entrances leading down to dark hallways that circle back up to the surface. They seem to have no purpose other than to hide from the colossus. Why would someone design such a structure unless they knew that one day a future warrior would attempt to take down the colossus and decided to give him or her a fighting chance? Otherwise they serve another purpose, perhaps the burial ground of some forgotten heroes, their names inscribed in a now long lost language in stone.

Abandon all hope ye who enter here

A dark and foreboding place

Between the tunnels is this ghostly area where Wander is transformed. It's really weird, I have three cameras I can use with Wander, but here none of them work (spooky!) This is directly beneath the mound at its centre, so this is where you would assume the dead would be buried. Perhaps that's why Wander's face takes on a sinister shadowy effect. Note: there's no way to get here legitimately, although you could possibly make it there in the Preview version... be challenging though.

Here, the darkness in Wander has full sway and Wander seems possessed!

On top of underground tomb passages

Exploring Phaedra's Area

Most of the surrounding cliffs have no collision detection but it's one of the most amazing places to explore in the game (in my opinion). It's another forest that you don't see in the game and was only intended to act as scenery from ground level, but as with all things created by Team Ico they have gone above and beyond designing details you weren't meant to see. 

The four barrows shrouded in mist as seen from a high ledge

One idea surfaced (from Ozzymandiaas on the Games F&Q website 11-01-2007) that if Wander could be thrown from the colossus high enough to reach these vines he might be able to climb up to a secret area. Phaedra violently shakes its head up and down, so it was thought that if timed properly you could make it. But these vines can't be climbed, they are just texture decoration around the cliff.

 The very top of the overhanging cliff where you enter has no roof

 Inside the roof you can see the sky lights turned inside out

West side cliffs - you can see the overhanging cliff in the background

Behind the cliffs is a flat green field - almost like it has been freshly mown

There are no collisions here, so I'm using the standing hack - you can see it's a big area

Mountains at the west side of the entrance facing east

Cliffs above the forest - you can walk here but get pulled down

Behind the forest - there's a weird light here that gives the area a magical feel

Lost in the misty forest

North side cliffs

One of the darker areas in the forest

See my exploration video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JgbY6F8nS4

Phaedra's Corpse

Like all colossi, when Phaedra dies it becomes a great mound of earth covered with vegetation, much like the barrows of the dead. Now the colossus has become part of the landscape, another mound of the dead in the land of the dead.

Phaedra's corpse and Phaedra - two realities intertwined

Phaedra in the Pit

I moved Phaedra before it's triggered to the pit at the entrance for no reason other than to see it there ; ) When you trigger it, it just starts back where it normally does. Unless the colossus is outside its native quadrant it will always activate where it is supposed to.

Phaedra Death Screen

Image you see when Wander dies during the fight with Phaedra.