Story: A lone rider named Wander travels to a forbidden land on horseback in search of a shrine and the supernatural being that dwells there. The shrine is dedicated to Dormin, a being who is said to hold dominion over the dead. Wander asks Dormin to revive his deceased lady friend; a request that is initially taken as jest. Eventually Dormin admits there is a way, if Wander can destroy the sixteen stone idols that line the shine's walls. Because mortal hands cannot demolish them, Wander must seek out and fell their incarnations. Before setting out he is left with a warning about the terrible price that comes with such an act.
"Souls once lost cannot be reclaimed. Is that not the law of mortals?" -Dormin
Gameplay: Half of the gameplay is simply exploring fields, forests, plains, ruins and deserts devoid of enemies (other than the colossi), so you can roam to your hearts content and enjoy the quiet solitude that the game embodies so well. The Forbidden Lands are are just as vast as they were on the PlayStation 2 original with a layout that remains mostly unchanged, aside from the crazy amounts of new detail and vegetation that make every area feel like a fresh experience. Areas I once knew by heart in the original are so visually different in the remake that I actually became lost on more than one occasion. Several new caves, mysterious coins, and easter eggs have been added, like the blue butterflies that look as if they came straight out of the Last Guardian. New fish and critters also inhabit the world, alongside the familiar fruit trees and illusive lizards with glowing tails. One major change from the original is how save shrines now act as a quick save rather than a full save.
The vast landscape is traversed with the aid of Wander's loyal steed, Agro]. He is an integral part of the game as your only companion and means of transport. Some battles even require the assistance of Agro in order to out-maneuver the colossi, but generally if Agro is not required you will not be able to bring him into an arena. A few tweaks were made to some of the fights, the most annoying being the Dirge battle. For this fight the player needs to release control of Agro in order to use a bow while mounted. In the original, Agro would run laps around the arena just fine, but in the remake he runs into walls. It's like the developer's handling the remake forgot that the player had to let go of Agro for this battle. Phalanx is also a lot slower; not necessarily a bad thing, but where before he was a little too fast, now he is a little too slow. On the whole, I felt like Agro received the biggest downgrade. He feels a lot lighter, less responsive, and more unruly than ever. He doesn't react to Wander pulling on the reins as satisfyingly as he did in the original and runs into walls that he previously wouldn't have. Instead of eating or exploring the environment like he used to, Agro now stands idly by, awaiting Wander. The new sound effects were also off-putting for me because it didn't sound like Agro, although I image new comers to the game won't be bothered as much by it as I was. What really irked me was Agro's new mud caked feet (anyone familiar with farm animals will know how bad prolonged moisture is for hooves) and frizzy hair. Agro had such beautiful flowing hair in the original and now he looks as if hes been neglected.
The other half of the gameplay consists of colossi battles. Colossi are brought down by destroying their glowing sigils (weak points) and each one is like a puzzle that requires the player to use their tools, the environment, or Agro to overcome. Each giant is clearly effected by gravity and moves their great bulk about at a leisurely pace, kicking up sprays of dust and dirt with each step, bringing their full might down on Wander with earth shattering results. The death blow to every behemoth is even played out in a dramatic, slow motion scene as the giant makes a spectacular fall from grace, accompanied by its idol splitting and collapsing into rubble. It is a solemn experience that succeeds in triggering feelings of remorse. It is as if you are taking something away from the world that can never be replaced and makes you question if what you are doing is right.
The music is equally spectacular, dramatic, uplifting, and somber. It changes with the mood and the action, always complimenting a scene or aiding the atmosphere. Segments of silence make the music all the more impactful. Many (but not all) of the tracks for the remake were enhanced by using more musicians and instruments "to make the sense of scale even bigger". The music is sometimes barley audible however, and the female tone in Dormin's voice no longer fades out like it did in the original. There is also a new screenshot feature and control scheme, but I ended up reverting back to the terrible PS2 control scheme.
"It is said that if one should
wish it, one can bring back the souls of the dead. But to trespass upon
that land is strictly forbidden..." -Lord Emon
Conclusion: Shadow of the Colossus is widely regarded as a work of art and remains one of my all time favorite games. Having played the original release, I found many of the sound and artistic liberties taken with the remake to be jarring, especially when they interfered with the lore or emotional impact of a scene - like Dormin's female voice no longer fading away. That said, the remake fixes or improves many (not all) issues the original had, like making Hydrus easier to spot under the water by adding lights along the length of his body. There is a power and draw in the original that can never be replaced, but the remake does it proud and overall plays better.
First posted to videogamegeek.com
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