| “ | To slay the spider shaped Colossus, the player had to strike the legs while riding Agro in order to make it lose its balance and fall. The concept was great in theory but difficult to create in practice. We were unable to make it happen during the programming phase. | „ |
| ~ Fumito Ueda in an interview about the cut content from the game. |
| “ | Spider was meant to be defeated by slashing it with your sword while riding Agro, but that would have required us to put in a special motion just to battle that Colossus, so I didn’t think it was very elegant. | „ |
| ~ Fumito Ueda in an interview about the cut content from the game. |
The Spider, nicknamed Aberth by fans, was a boss intended to appear in the 2005 video game Shadow of the Colossus.
Biography[]
Like the other colossi in the game, the Spider would have been created by Lord Emon to contain the fragmented essence of the defeated evil Dormin. He set them all to wander the Forbidden Lands, destroying anyone that comes their way, so that Dormin could never be resurrected. When a young man named Wander trespasses in the Forbidden Lands and asks the disembodied spirit of Dormin to resurrect his deceased lover Mono, Dormin agrees under the condition that Wander kills all of the colossi (tricking Wander into releasing his essence so he may be reborn). Wander agrees, and sets off. The Spider would have likely been found on cliffs in Quadrant F0.
The Spider would have been a large, cylindrical Colossus supported by several long, sharp legs. According to the Shadow of the Colossus Artbook and Guidebook, "it was defeated by leading it from water to land", so the location of the battle was near a watery area. The player would have had to ride the horse Agro, avoiding being stabbed by its legs. The weak spots would have been located on the legs, and Wander would have to lean off of Agro and swipe with the Ancient Sword to deal damage and bring the colossus down, then attack the Spider's sigil, which was likely in its open, fanged mouth. This probably had to be repeated at least once.
Once the Spider was dead, the fragmental part of Dormin will bring Wander back to the Shrine of Worship, where he will be prepared to face his next foe.
Though Wander had horseback swordfighting in his demo moveset, this ability was taken out in the final game. According to developer Fumito Ueda, it would have been the only boss to require that ability, and it was not very "elegant". He also claimed that, while the concept of the fight was well-liked, it was too difficult to program, leading to the Spider being cut. Despite this, the Spider was still described in the Shadow of the Colossus Artbook and Guidebook and talked about in interviews, and is among the most popular of the removed Colossi from the game.
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