The 4th Colossus, resembling a decayed mythological kirin, is one of sixteen bosses fought in Shadow of the Colossus. It makes its home in a vibrant alcove dotted with a few ruins in quadrant G5 of the map.
Path to the colossus
- See also: Map for this path
The 4th colossus is one of the easiest colossi to get to. Upon exiting the temple, the sword's light will point roughly southeast to an opening in the cliff walls. The ravine will eventually lead to a verdant alcove. Follow the cliffside path down and hold up the sword again in the sun to find the path to the colossus farther east. Before reaching the colossus, ruins in the grass will be passed: four passages, linked together underground.
Walkthrough
Agro is at Wander's side once more, but much like the battle with the 2nd colossus, she is not a major component of the fight. (This is, however, the last time she will not be needed - the three other colossi she can make her way to may require her speed.) The conspicuous ruins seen earlier do indeed play a part in getting atop the colossus. Stand at the entrance of one of them, get the colossus attention by whistling (or with an arrow or two), and hide from its view when it approaches the entrance. When it's close, head inside the ruins and go to one of the three other exits (preferably the one opposite the one entered, but any will do as long as Wander remains undetected). If done correctly, it will stomp three times, squat down and then attempt to look inside the entrance it last saw Wander go in. There are times, however, when the colossus will turn around, giving the impression that it has seen Wander. Although, if the player stays behind cover, it will turn back and start stomping the ground. Now Wander has a chance. There are two options here:
- The first is to sneak outside while the colossus is looking in, climb up its small "tail", and go up to its neck. Wander's sword will indicate a place on its neck where he can stab to get the colossus to lower its head, letting the player proceed to its weakspot. Be conscious of stamina.
- The second is to remain at the entrance the colossus saw Wander go in and quickly jump onto and climb up one of the two rock columns dangling from either side of its head once it looks down. Doing so will take Wander right to its head, but it's much harder to stay balanced on it.
- Time Attack times in Original and PS3 versions (Normal, Hard): 5:30, 5:00
- Time Attack times in PS4 Remake (Normal, Hard): 5:00, 6:15
Weakspots
| Location | Percentage of health | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Hard | |
| The top of its head | 100% | 66.7% |
| Just below its neck, on the left | N/A | 16.7% |
| Just below its neck, on the right | N/A | 16.7% |
| Back of the neck | Used in climbing | |
Tips and tricks
- It is possible, though difficult, to jump off of Agro and onto a "ledge" on one of the colossus' back legs. When the leg moves down, quickly make a few well-timed jumps without losing balance to get up onto its back. The 4th colossus is considered to be one of the most difficult colossi to defeat in Time Attack; this is a huge time saver if one can pull it off.
- One can also get the 4th colossus' attention while standing on the hills; wait until it's as close as possible and then jump towards the dangling columns on its head. In order to do that, the player should be standing on the highest point of the hill.
- It's much easier to grab onto the dangling columns if the colossus has its neck lowered after stabbing its weakness twice, as it will stay that way permanently. This is a great way to get back to the head if the player happens to fall from it.
Attacks
| Attack | Damage (Normal) | Damage (Hard) | Description | Demonstration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triple Stomp | 40 (Shockwave) 60 (Direct hit) |
80 (Shockwave) Instakill (Direct hit) |
The colossus will stab the ground with one of its front legs three times. The landing spots are pre-determined and easy to avoid. | 
|
| Kick | 30 | 60 | If Wander tries to climb onto one of its hind legs, it may kick him. | 
|
Music
| Phase | Plays in | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Intro | Plays upon entering the 4th colossus' lair. | Green Hills |
| Phase 1 | Plays once the 4th colossus rises and begins following Wander. | Creeping Shadow |
| Phase 2 | Plays once Wander begins to climb the 4th colossus. | The Opened Way |
Development History
This colossus was created near the start of the game's development in 2003, and it used to be tested in Stage 19. Its nickname during development was 'Kirin'.[1]
Kirin
Kirin specification taken from the official artbook.
Kirin was originally created using the archetype of 'Mammoth' (the 2nd colossus), being referred to as 'Mammoth custom' on one of its battle specification documents.[2] It is unknown if Kirin had a different design during its archetypical phase, as its earliest known iteration is seen in its battle specification document, where the elements Kirin, Bone, and Hair[2] were combined to make the version depicted in it.
Stage and battle specifications of Kirin. Taken from The World of Fumito Ueda.
The boss was planned to be around the 2nd to 5th colossus encounter, staying within that range during the entirety of development. The strategy involved guiding the boss from its resting platform at the top of a hill (likely the namesake of its arena), down to the main battle area, where the player would have to climb one of the various stone mounds placed throughout and jump to the boss' chest or tail hairs.
According to the PS3 Data Sheets, Kirin had a unique HUD icon, which is an icon in the shape of the colossus that used to show the weakpoint locations in early builds.
Footage of Stage 19. The colossus' starting platform is on the distance.
Kirin's early arena (Kirin's Hill) appears in the Production Reel video. The evidence for this was found by a fan named Aith, as he was playing around with the arena's 3D model 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." Suggesting that the four pillars seen in the footage were actually for its starting platform. The platform with the pillars can also be seen in the early specification.
Kirin's Hill in the first world map.
Near the end of 2003, when the world map was completely flat save for the copied and pasted mountains made using the "parts library", the boss' arena was located in quadrant G4. Evidence of this exists in the stage segments leftover from the PS3 Data Sheets, which lists chips named as 'g4_kirins_hill'. However, at the start of 2004, after the shape of the map was changed and the developers started using a height map to sculpt it, the arena was moved to quadrant G5, where it stayed in for the rest of development.
List of all texture segments related to "kirin_A_stone" which are breakable.
Several texture segments for separate objects named 'kirin_A_stone' exist in the PS3 data sheets. Those include a 'core' and 11 parts for when it "breaks". Those are named similar to the structures that fall on top of the 14th colossus' head in Ruins and the rocks in Stonehenge.
The boss_zou entry in the BossStatus data sheet from the E3 Demo suggests that Kirin used to be the 3rd colossus at some point in development around the 2004 era.
At some unknown time, it was decided to increase the size of the boss, remove the chest and tail hairs, change the strategy to use a basement to hide from the boss, and add the dangling pillars on its head, which were taken from an early concept from the 12th colossus. The entire arena was also mirrored horizontally and moved to the northeastern side of the quadrant as opposed to being in the southwest, as proven by the early pause menu map, ambient texture and super low resolution texture of G5.
E3 Demo
- Main article: Shadow of the Colossus (E3 Demo)#III
Kirin in the E3 Demo. Note its chest covered in fur.
In the version of the game from May 11th 2005 (known as the E3 Demo), Kirin was mostly the same from its final version, but had some minor differences.
Kirin's early shadow model compared to its final release version. Provided by Jaikhay.
It still was the 3rd colossus in this version. Its chest was covered in fur, a leftover of its earlier strategy. However, the beard no longer existed by this point. The music that played in the battle was 'Grotesque Figures', likely as a placeholder. Kirin's shadow model seems to mirror its earlier design, with a different shaped head, a beard and a hairy tail.
The ending model of Kirin's Hill in the E3 Demo version. Shows a part of an early version of the arena, before it was mirrored horizontally.
Kirin's Hill in the E3 Demo version still has the light direction from before it was mirrored baked on its model. A piece of this non-mirrored version is also seen in the ending model. The basement entrances looked quite different, and the theme Sign of the Colossus plays when first entering the arena. The cutscene's camera goes through the walls of the stage since it was mirrored recently. Reversing the mirroring and placing Kirin's Hill in its original location via modding makes the cutscene play out correctly.
kirin_test_stage.
A collision model to test the posture of Kirin was also found floating above its arena in the this version. It is square-shaped with a platform in the middle.
Preview
- Main article: Shadow of the Colossus (Preview)#V
In the version of the game from August 10th 2005 (known as the Preview version), Kirin now was the 5th colossus, and 'Revived Power' played in its battle upon climbing the boss. Other than that, it was very similar to its final release iteration.
In the final game, it became the 4th colossus, switching positions with Bird.
Trivia
- The 4th colossus stands at a rough height of 113ft/34.5m, making it the joint second-tallest of all the colossi. The only colossus that stands taller is the 16th, who is almost twice as tall as the 4th's highest point.
- Like the 12th colossus, the 4th colossus possesses a set of skeletal ribs protruding from its underbelly.
- This colossus makes very unusual sounds; when stabbed by Wander, it makes a very high-pitched, almost deer-like whining/yelping sound. The noise is somewhat similar to that made by the 13th colossus when it dies.
- The fight against the 4th colossus is similar to the fight against the 6th; in both instances, Wander must lead the colossus to the entrance of some ruins which he must then hide within. He then has to wait for the colossus to bend/kneel down and peer into the entrance of the ruins in an attempt to find him. By leaning down to search for Wander, the 4th colossus lowers its head, making the two rock columns dangling from either side of its head accessible (in the fight against the 6th colossus, its beard acts as the same point of access), allowing Wander to climb up them and onto the colossus.
- The two rock columns dangling on both sides of its head could be reins, since the 4th colossus is horse-like.
- Dormin's riddle describes the location which houses the 4th colossus as having "rows of guiding graves", yet none can be found. However, it is extremely likely that the ruins in which Wander hides from the colossus is one big tumulus, also known as burial mounds.
Gallery
Original
Remake
Earlier versions
| The game | ICO ( Demo • Revisions from U.S. version • Ico HD ) | |
| Characters | Ico • Yorda • The Queen • Shadows • Shinkan | |
| The Castle | Altar • Warehouse • Spiral Stairs • Old Bridge • Stairs • Trolley 1 • Trolley 2 • Crane • Chandelier • Drawbridge • Main Gate • Graveyard • Dark Room • Windmill • Sunbeams • Stone Pillar • East Crag • East Arena • East Idol Stairs • East Reflector • Waterfall • Sluice • Cogwheel • Gondola • Water Tower • West Crag • West Arena • West Idol Stairs • West Reflector • Cage • Pipe • Elevator • Wharf • Queen's Room • Sandy Beach | |
| Items | Stick • Sword • Queen's Sword • Mace • Light Saber | |
| Miscellaneous | Idol Gates • Runic language • Sofas • ICO Stages | |
| Unused Content | Castle Soldiers • Unused Locations (Dynamite Room) • Unused Objects | |
| Other Media | Credits • Ico ~Melody in the Mist~ • Official Game Guide • Ico: Castle in the Mist • Development Timeline of ICO • Interview Archive | |
| The Game | gen ATLAS • Credits | |
| Characters | Protagonist • Robot Head | |
| Other Media | Interview Archive | |
 Walkthrough | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Wander · Mono · Agro · Dormin · Lord Emon · Guards · Shadows |
| Colossi | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV · XVI |
| Locations | The Ancient Lands · Shrine of Worship · Colossus Arenas |
| Main Items | Power-ups (Lizards · Fruit) · Weapons (Ancient Sword · Sword of the Sun · Queen’s Sword · Sword of Dormin · Bow & Arrow · Ancient Bow · Harpoon of Thunder · Life Sword) · Collectibles (Relics) |
| Gameplay | Hard Mode · Save shrines · Time Attack · Reminiscence Mode · Watermelon · Barrel |
| Media | Roar of the Earth (OST) · Official Art and Guide Book · Nico Bonus DVD · Film · Interview Archive |
| Releases | OPM Demo · PS2 original · PS3 remaster · PS4 remake · Credits |
| Early Builds | Preview version · PSU Preview version · E3 Demo |
| Unused Content | Unused Colossi · Colossus Test Stages · Unused Locations · Beta Mountains · Development Timeline of Shadow of the Colossus |
References
- ↑ https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:FamitsuNicknameInterview.png | December 2nd, 2005 Famitsu - The Colossi Nicknames (1st to 10th Colossus)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "麒麟 + 骨 + 毛 (マンモスカスタム)" - Official artbook and guidebook, page 178.