Line #7 Awesome/ShadowOfTheColossus


1	!!Original
2	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_colossus.jpg]]
3	[[caption-width-right:350:"Raise thy courage to defeat it."]]
4	A word of warning. Some of these examples might contain the strategies for defeating each colossi, spelled out and detailed. Some tropers may avoid doing this, but if you'd rather have the satisfaction of tackling the colossi first and working out your own strategy, read no further.
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6	* Wander can perform mounted archery[[labelnote:]]and is in fact required to do so at several points[[/labelnote]]. Wander can stand in Agro's saddle[[labelnote:]]hold R1 and Δ and press forward on the left analog stick[[/labelnote]]. Agro can jump small cliffs[[labelnote:*]]charge a safe ledge at a full gallop[[/labelnote]]. The end result is that Wander can perform mounted archery ''while'' standing in the saddle ''as'' Agro jumps a small cliff. This is [[SomeDexterityRequired ridiculously difficult to pull off successfully]], [[NonSequitur serves absolutely no practical gameplay purpose]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking is awesome as all fuck]].
7	* The boss battle against Avion, the fifth colossus. To be fair, it wasn't much while you were in the water, but the sight of Avion proudly soaring in and defying all the laws of physics (nothing that big and heavy-looking should be able to fly) with such gracefulness was rewarding on its own. The arena itself was the first most scenic, with the ruins partially submerged in the lake, and Avion perched on the tower, watching you swim by. Then, you get to see it fly around the arena. Eventually, you get to fly on its back, and that was where the awe in awesome comes in. The view: magnificent. The experience: thrilling. ColossusClimb over its wings and tail was amazing, going at such high speed up high. And this was the first boss that doesn't attack you on sight, so the moment of its death is more tragic than that of the other colossi so far confronted. Awesome in both senses of the word - impressive and full of awe.
8	** In that same vein, Phalanx. The other flying colossus, this one both the largest, the most alien, and the only colossus that is completely harmless. Watching it fly around for the first portion of the battle set to a melancholy strings track makes it one of the most hauntingly beautiful encounters in the game. Little wonder why this fight is often singled out as one of the highlights of this game.
9	* The very first colossus you fight is the first taste you get of what's to come, and it's awesome. If you're on your first playthrough, you've barely learned how basic platforming works in the game, and it leaves a lot for you to learn on your own. Learning the colossus' movements and how to survive its attempts to throw you off, followed by striking its weak point with amazing music in the background is absolutely breathtaking and adrenaline-pulsing. Once you've felled a colossus, you feel like you can take on anything.
10	** Hell, the death of the first Colossus. Like the other Colossi, Valus's death scene is treated as somberly as possible. However, seeing the Colossus fall gives the player another feeling -- that maybe, just maybe, you can complete this ImpossibleTask and save Mono.
11	* Just the sheer size of the final Colossus, Malus, is awe-inspiring. At first glance, you think that you're looking at a mountain or an old abandoned castle, but then when the massive rain storm starts up, electricity starts flowing down its arm, and those ominous eyes of doom flare up, you know you're in trouble. Once you've awakened to what amounts to a sentient mountain, it starts throwing massive fireballs at you like they're going out of style, then you realize how terrifying this creature had to have been to the people that sealed Malus centuries ago for them to lock its legs in an eternal vice. More than any of the other Colossi, Malus is the closest in size, power, and most importantly rage to Dormin; you face Malus last because he represents the absolute, complete, all-consuming rage of a god who was spited centuries ago when they forced him to be immobile and stuck to one place for all eternity. That is why the environment changes, the massive and violent storm is an outward manifestation of the storm raging inside of Dormin, Malus is truly the manifestation of malice itself.
12	* Here's another way to approach Malus: you've come a long way. Fifteen Colossi the size of gods are dead by your hand. Your faithful steed and closest friend, Agro, has just fallen off the bridge that just collapsed behind you; verily, she was proud and strong until the end. But you know that now only one Colossus remains. As a powerful thunderstorm manifests, you go up the stairs and see a tower stretching to the darkened sky. "This is it," you say. "The final Colossus must be inside that tower." Then the tower's spires begin '''moving'''. "...Oh..."
13	* The battle with Gaius, the third Colossus. The first two are primarily learning experiences; yes, they can attack you, but generally you won't have any difficulty offing both of them, and it can be done without a complete understanding of the game mechanics. When you enter Galus' arena and first see the size of him, you have to be in awe of the giant standing in front of you. On top of that, this is the first true puzzle boss, where you can't just jump on him and go to town. It's easy to get nervous when you see him rearing back to strike at you with that big sword-thing on his right arm…
14	* The way Lord Emon defeats the Dormin-possessed Wander can be this as well. You'd expect him to be squashed flat, but instead he and his men slay the EldritchAbomination before them!
15	* If you're on Wander's side in all this, and perhaps even if you aren't, the way he goes down struggling against Emon's men to the bitter end. He might not have been in any condition to fight them after what he'd just been through, they might have shot and stabbed him so easily it was more like an execution than a battle, but he ''doesn't give up'' until he physically can't go on any more.
16	* Then there is the battle with the 10th colossus, a giant sand snake that chases after Wander at such incredible speed that he is forced to ride on Agro to keep ahead of the thing. Moreover, its only accessible weak spots are in its eyes, so Wander ''lets go of Agro's reins, turns in the saddle, and accurately shoots an arrow into the Snake's eye while at full gallop!!'' Wander may be a clumsy swordfighter, but there is no denying that he is a master of archery.
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18	!!Remake
19	* E3 2017 recently announced a remake of this game. Once again, a '''remake''' of [=SotC=]. And [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XeqXXND7c4 the trailer]] has shown that players will once again be able to visit the Forbidden Land and again do battle with the Colossi with beautifully remastered graphics. Fans, eat your goddamn hearts out.
20	** Even more amazing is how the team managed to keep this a secret and completely under the radar until the trailer was released!
21	* The water physics are nothing to scoff at, and no fight shows this better than the fifth colossus'. When Avion dive bombs you the sheer wind force from her dive sends a massive wall of water at you, just before you jump on.

Context Awesome / ShadowOfTheColossus