This weekend, I did a bit of shopping, visited my parents, and destroyed two idols the size of skyscrapers. Yes, I have drawn my first blood (or some kind of black ichor, anyway) from Shadow of the Colossus, and it's been as much fun as a naked pagan dance.
My previous assessment of the first Colossi battle was a little off. The first Colossi battle is a tutorial battle—of sorts. It's just not a very easy one. You're expected to learn and perfect the basics of climbing, stabbing, and shimmying. Otherwise you don't stand a chance against the second Colossi, which is three times as large as the first and has twice as many hooves to flatten you with. The sink-or-swim approach of Wander's first real fight is a clever way to bypass modern gaming's overzealous hand-holding, though it took me a while to realise I would get better if I tried. I was just initially scared to keep trying.
I'm not even sure why I harboured that fear. Who was going to laugh at me for my failures? The shadowy Gods flitting near the ceiling of the Temple of Worship? Wander, who wouldn't change his facial expression if you dropped a cinder block on his foot? Agro? Wander's dead girlfriend/wife? I eventually realised I was being silly, and took up the controller again.
Happily, Shadow of the Colossus gave me plenty of initiative to keep on trying. First, there just aren't too many games that let you scale the furry bum of a living idol. The, um, “bee scratching” segment of Super Mario Galaxy doesn't count, and let us never mention it again.
Second, every time I attempted to climb the first Colossi, I got a little closer to the pulsating rune on its head—and when I inevitably fell off, it became easier to climb back up. And I experienced a movement in my body that (to quote Mr Burns) took me back: my heart was thumping and banging like Animal from the Muppet Show.
I generally choose titles that help me relax, so it's not too often that games make my ticker jump up and go. Not that I object to it happening, but I don't think a video game has given me that kind of rush since I conquered the first challenges that honed my skills: beating up Bowser in Super Mario Bros 3, defeating the Mana Beast in Secret of Mana, bringing down Sigma in Mega Man X, wrecking Luca Blight in Suikoden II. I love my video games in the here and now, but it's extra special when you find that rare one that makes you feel like you're taking your first steps all over again.
Two Colossi down, fourteen to go. Slowly up the ladder.
Related Links:
Time for Me to Play Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus: First Impressions
Super Secret Castle Discovered in Shadow of the Colossus