There are a great many things in Shadow of the Colossus that can be done but which are not detailed about anywhere in-game. Unlockable weapons, maps, stamina and health boosts and Agro gymnastics are all very well hidden extras in this intriguing game. Below there is a compilation of all the extras that you need to know about in order to get the most out of Shadow of the Colossus.
My full review of the game can be found here.
Annnd my story explanation and various game theories can be found here.
Secrets:
Agro's adventures:
If you are idle at either the start screen of the game or during the opening cutscene, but not during gameplay, then you will see Agro as she explores the world alone and without Wander. Wander is usually shown at the place where you last saved; sleeping or resting by a shrine. Agro will venture far and wide and, the same as in cutscenes, you may control the camera.
The Secret Garden:
At the very top of the Shrine of Worship is the secret garden shown at the end of the storyline. In order to access the garden you need a great deal of staminia and so it is best to attempt the climb when you have maximum stamina. To start the climb go to the back of the Shrine and locate a large growth of vines, in the PS3 version of the game all rest points have been removed so you need to attempt the climb all in one go. The PS2 version of the game also used to have an exploit where you could skip a large portion of the climb but this has since been removed. Once you have finished with the climb you should turn to the left and go up the set of stairs in order to access the garden itself. Doing this will earn you a trophy on the PS3 edition.
White-tailed Lizards
Scattered across the land are two different kinds of lizard; white tailed lizards and regular, black lizards. Whilst the ordinary black lizards do absolutely nothing the white tailed variety can be killed and their tail eaten (press
by the shining tail) for a permenant increase to your grip meter. There are 77 white tailed lizards in the game with one lizard for every save shrine you can find and some additional ones elsewhere. By completing the Normal/Hard Time Attacks you can unlock a map that shows you the location of the lizards, I've detailed more information about the map further below.Fruit trees
As well as boosts to your stamina you can also boost your health by shooting fruit out of trees and picking them up (
whilst standing beside the fallen fruit). The fruit has a range of appearances from very pale skinned banana shaped fruit to darker, brown fruit. Below is a diagram of all varieties. In the game there are 33 fruit trees which range from very large ones to smaller, thinner trees. Quite often a tree will have more than one piece of fruit on it as, though there are only 33 fruit trees in the game, there are roughly 128 pieces of fruit overall. Eating the fruit provides a permenant increase to your health bar and may also replenish any lost health. 
Note: Fruit found in the secret garden depletes your health and stamina and so is considered poisonous. This poisonous fruit is only found in the garden and is depicted at the end of the diagram.
Agro Gymnastics
Pet Agro: Whilst standing near Agro's head or whilst sitting in her saddle you should equip nothing, as in have an empty hand, and press
to pet her on her neck. Maintain speed: To maintain Agro’s speed you should hold down
rather than tap it. Jump from Agro: You can jump from Agro at any time, standing or sitting, by tapping
. This is useful to reach new heights if you can time it correctly. Have Agro jump: Agro can jump over small gaps and off short ledges if you gallop her towards where you want her to jump. Agro will only jump over or off of things that she will survive from.
Rear then gallop from a standstill: From a dead stop sharply drag
and, quickly and at the same time. If done correctly Agro should rear up and then take off into a maximum speed gallop. This is very useful for fast getaways. Emergency stop: Whilst galloping sharply drag
downwards and , as though performing the above move, Agro should drag herself across the ground and stop dead. Stop and turn around: Whilst galloping sharply drag
downwards and twice (not twice, the entire combination) Agro should once again drag herself across the ground and stop but then quickly turn around 180 degrees, still running. Stand whilst riding: Whilst either cantering or galloping hold down
then drag upwards, Wander should stand up and ride on Agro’s back. Hang from saddle: Whilst either cantering or galloping hold down
and . Depending on which side you want to hang, drag the stick in either the left or right direction. Wander should hold onto the saddle and hang from that side whilst Agro continues to run. You can get off Agro from this position by letting go of the saddle.Gameplay modes
Upon completing Shadow of the Colossus for the first time you will unlock additional modes; a harder difficulty mode and time attack modes. During gameplay of any difficulty level, including your first playthrough, you may also access reminisce mode.
Reminiscence mode:
Return to the fallen body of any colosuss that you have already defeated. There you will see its body, if you go up to it and press O to pray you can fight the colossus again but with an old film appearance instead of the regular graphics. Check the list below to see where each colossus is located.
| Colossus Locations | |
|---|---|
| Colossus | Map Area |
| 1.Valus | F-5 |
| 2.Quadratus | F-3 |
| 3. Gaius | E-2 |
| 4. Phaedra | G-5 |
| 5. Avion | H-4 |
| 6. Barba | D-6 |
| 7. Hydrus | D-1 |
| 8. Kuromori | G-6 |
| 9. Basaran | D-3 |
| 10. Dirge | B-4 |
| 11. Celosia | F-1 |
| 12. Pelagia | G-2 |
| 13. Phalanx | E-6 |
| 14. Cenobia | C-2 |
| 15. Argus | G-1 |
| 16. Malus | F-8 |
Hard Mode:
Hard Mode can be accessed from the Main Menu after completing the game on Normal Mode and there are several differences.
- No tutorials or hints from Dormin
- Save files have an orange lowercase ‘h’ beside the game clear number, indicating Hard Mode. If the game has been completed three times for example the game will show 3h in orange.
- The following colossi have additional weak points on their bodies; Valus, Quadratus, Gaius, Barba, Argus and Phaedra. All have one additional weak point apart from Phaedra who has two.
- Wander takes more damage from regular attacks whereas very strong attacks such as being stomped on or hit directly will instantly kill him, regardless of your health.
- When playing through Time Attack a different set of items will be unlocked compared to the Time Attacks in Normal Mode. More information on this below.
Time Attacks can be completed during either Normal Mode or Hard Mode but only after you have completed the game once. During the Time Attack modes there are a lot of opportunities to unlock some extremely useful items though the items unlocked depend on which difficulty level you’re completing them in. To access the Time Attack mode you should go to the Shrine of Worship and approach an idol of your choosing, by praying at any of the sixteen idols you will enter the Time Attack mode for that particular colossus. The goal of a Time Attack mode is to defeat the colossus in the given time limit which differ according to difficulty mode and the colossus being fought. Below is a table of the Time Limit given for each seperate battle.
| Colossus | Time Limit | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Hard | |
| 1. Valus | 2:30 | 2:50 |
| 2. Quadratus | 4:00 | 4:30 |
| 3. Gaius | 6:00 | 5:00 |
| 4. Phaedra | 5:30 | 5:00 |
| 5. Avion | 5:30 | 5:30 |
| 6. Barba | 3:30 | 6:30 |
| 7. Hydrus | 12:00 | 8:00 |
| 8. Kuromori | 8:00 | 7:30 |
| 9. Basaran | 7:30 | 5:30 |
| 10. Dirge | 6:00 | 5:00 |
| 11. Celosia | 5:30 | 5:30 |
| 12. Pelagia | 9:30 | 10:00 |
| 13. Phalanx | 12:00 | 13:00 |
| 14. Cenobia | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| 15. Argus | 10:00 | 11:30 |
| 16. Malus | 9:30 | 13:00 |
By successfully completing these Time Attacks you will acquire a new item for every two that you complete. All new items will appear in the pool at the back of the shrine and can only be used in that particular difficulty level so, for example, items unlocked in the hard difficulty mode cannot be used in the normal difficulty mode. There are eight items for each difficulty level and sixteen in total.
Two items are unlocked in both difficulty levels; the fruit tree map and lizard detection stone but I will discuss what these do further below. Below is a table of all of the items you can unlock by completing the Time Attacks.
| Time Attacks Completed | Unlocked Item | |
| Normal Mode | Hard Mode | |
| 2 | Whistling Arrow | Harpoon of Thunder |
| 4 | Cloak of Force | Sword of the Sun |
| 6 | Mask of Strength | Fruit Tree Map |
| 8 | Lizard Detection Stone | Shaman's Cloak |
| 10 | Fruit Tree Map | Lizard Detection Stone |
| 12 | Mask of Power | Shaman's Mask |
| 14 | Cloak of Deception | Cloth of Desperation |
| 16 | Flash Arrow, Brown Agro | Queen's Sword, White Agro |
Lizard Detection Stone:
The lizard detection stone will mark your map with an icon whenever you are standing in the general vicinity of a white tailed lizard. The icon on the map will be that of a lizard but they will only appear when you are relatively close by to that lizard. There are 77 white tailed lizards on the map, for more information on finding all of the white tailed lizards, check the trophy guide here.
Fruit Tree Map:
The fruit tree map will mark your map with the icon of a piece of fruit wherever a fruit tree can be found. The icons will appear regardless of how close you are to the tree and so, to use this item, you simply need to look at your map. There are 128 pieces of fruit in the game but only 33 markers as each marker has multiple pieces of fruit in the area. For more information on finding all of the fruit, check the trophy guide here.
Normal Time Attack Unlockables:
Whistling Arrow: When fired a whistling arrow will distract a colossus and make them turn in the direction of the arrow. This is a useful way of guiding a colossus or making them turn around so you can access their back.
Cloak of Force: The Cloak of Force quite simply increases the damage done by your sword.
Mask of Strength: The Mask of Strength also increases the damage done by your sword and can be used in conjunction with the cloak of force for even more damage.
Mask of Power: The Mask of Power is an even more efficient version of the Mask of Strength and thus cannot be used in conjunction with it. It can however be used with the Cloak of Force for increased damage.
Cloak of Deception: The Cloak of Deception renders the player invisible to all Colossi, allowing you to roam around their guarded areas without them bothering you in the slightest. This is especially useful during the final battle as you can walk through unscathed. The Cloak of Deception cannot be used alongside the Cloak of Force.
Flash Arrow: Flash arrows explode upon impact and do significantly more damage than regular arrows. Flash arrows can sometimes completely destroy small sigils in the same way that the ancient sword can.
Brown Agro: After successfully completing all sixteen Time Attacks on Normal mode you can unlock a brown variant of Agro, shown below, to use this new skin you must hold down
at the title screen when loading a new game. 
Hard Time Attack Unlockables:
Harpoon of Thunder: These arrows do significantly more damage than regular arrows and also have the ability to interrupt a colossus' attack. Harpoons of Thunder can sometimes completely destroy small sigils in the same way that the ancient sword can.
Sword of the Sun: With this equipped the light from your sword will shine regardless of whether you are in the sunlight or not. In order to use it you need to cycle through your weapons until you find it.
Shaman's Cloak: The Shaman's Cloak decreases the damage that you receive from the attacks of the colossi, allowing you to survive for longer.
Shaman's Mask: The Shaman's mask also decreases the damage you receive from colossi and may be used in conjunction with the Shaman's Cloak for added protection.
Cloak of Desperation: The Cloth of Desperation is a parachute that eliminates all fall damage. When using the Cloak of Desperation you will fall slowly with a very flight forward glide. You will still die if you attempt to use it in certain spots such as the cliffs overlooking the ocean This item can be used alongside the Shaman's Cloak.To use the parachute you can hold either
or Circle whilst in mid-air. Queen's Sword: The Queen's sword is an incredibly powerful sword with the ability to destroy even major sigils completely with just one fully charged stab.
White Agro: After succesfully completing all sixteen Time Attacks on Hard mode you will unlock a white variant of Agro, as pictured below. To enable this you must hold down
at the title screen when loading a new game.
Easter Eggs
Tree climbing:
Dotted around the landscape are a lot of very large trees with broad branches. These larger trees can be climbed in the same way you would a colossus by scaling up the green moss on the trunk of the trees. This method is a very effective way of checking to see if there's any fruit in the upper canopy and as a way of surveying the landscape.
Grabbing onto Fish and Birds
Several creatures can be grabbed onto with
, provided you're fast enough. Try practicing grabbing onto the doves in the Shrine of Worship by running at them, jumping and grabbing with . Wander will only fall off if the bird lands, your grip meter runs out or you manually let go. Aside from doves you can also try this with other birds including hawks which tend to fly up high and for long distances, including over ravines and canyons. Be cautious when grabbing onto hawks as, if your grip runs out, you may fall to your death. Fish can also be grabbed onto if you seek them out in a lake and they'll drag you about underwater for some time before you run out of air. Note: For the PS3 edition of the game there are trophies related to grabbing onto birds and fish, see here for details.References to Ico
In the PS2 edition if you have a saved game file from Ico on your memory card then the diamond-shaped mark on Agro's head is changed to the "I" from the Ico logo. This only occurs on the black variant of Agro and not on the brown/white skinned alternatives.
The reward from completing the hard mode Time Attacks is the 'Queen's Sword' from Ico.
PS2 Secret Garden Exploit
Find the patch of ivy behind the Shrine. If your grip meter is high enough, you can just jump straight up the side until you reach the first ledge, which has a small patch of leaves on it. Position yourself directly under that patch of leaves and continue to hold
and jump straight up. Your character will immediately duck into the leaves and allow you to refill any lost stamina. Once you have regained your grip bar continue around and up the side until you finally reach the path leading to the garden. Bare in mind this does NOT work for the PS3 HD remaster of the game.
