Griffin (グリフィン Gurifin) is one of the unused colossi that, for one reason or another, did not make it into the final released game. Its name is a reference to Greek mythology.
Appearance[]
Griffin is a small to medium sized colossus, being depicted as 9 meters high in the sketch with the comparison between the player, horse and colossus. Its appearance is made to resemble its namesake, although the model shown in the artbook (Griffin A) is quite early in development and very unfinished. While not fully matching its sketches, it mostly resembles the one with Wander and Agro in it.
Its body is mostly covered by an armor resembling wood with a fully exposed back, where its weak point most likely lies. Unique red markings similar to the ones from one of the early designs of the 13th colossus can be seen on its face and parts of its armor. It has bone-like wings, which are only there for decoration.
Its later design (Griffin B) is not seen in the artbook screenshots. Its textures, however, are listed in the PS3 Data Sheets. Save for the eyes and skin, most of the textures are the same as the ones from the 11th colossus, meaning it likely had armor similar to it, before being reused for the 11th.
Strategy[]
The artbook gives a relatively large amount of information on Griffin, such as, "You could defeat it by making use of its weakness, fire. You were meant to fight it by riding Agro, as with Colossus 10, but it took a long time to retry, so it was a colossus that was rejected."
This means that the player would have to light a torch on fire and use it to intimidate the colossus, like the fight against the 11th, and it was swift like the 10th.
Location[]
Griffin lived in the unused 'Valley' arena, due to the fact that Valley and Stage 7, which was Griffin's test stage, share the same textures listed in the same exact order in the game's data sheets. Its location on the map, however, is unknown. Since it has a stage segment, it means that the arena was placed at the map at some point, but it likely didn't last very long.
Trivia[]
- Griffin was one of two colossi to not get an idol statue, the other being Saru. This suggests they were both cut very early in development.
- Griffin also lacks an entry in the sound effects parameters (sePARAM), again like Saru.
- According to the data sheets, Griffin 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. It lists an icon for "Griffin_A", meaning it likely took that appearance.
- One of the 11th colossus' battle sketches refers to it as "Griffin custom", implying that it was a byproduct of Griffin, being the same type of colossus.
- A colossus with the name Griffin B was found in the data sheets sharing the same textures of the 11th colossus. This might be a later version of Griffin that wasn't shown in the artbook, but since it got deleted, parts of it were reused for the 11th.
- Certain control sheets for colossi such as the 11th and 14th in the E3 Demo have some functions which are taken from the sheet named "ControlDefGRIFFIN_CONTROL", such as the ones for braking and slowing down. Inside their sheets however, the functions have the name "グリフィンB" (Griffin B in japanese), more than likely proving that Griffin A and B were the same colossus. Below is a list of all functions:
- Griffin B Dash Condition - Condition for the colossus to dash.
- Griffin B Brake Condition - Condition for the colossus to brake.
- Griffin B Shift Down Condition - Condition for the colossus to slow down.
- Griffin B Shift Up Condition - Condition for the colossus to speed up.
- Certain control sheets for colossi such as the 11th and 14th in the E3 Demo have some functions which are taken from the sheet named "ControlDefGRIFFIN_CONTROL", such as the ones for braking and slowing down. Inside their sheets however, the functions have the name "グリフィンB" (Griffin B in japanese), more than likely proving that Griffin A and B were the same colossus. Below is a list of all functions:
- The sheet known as "scr_param", which lists various mechanics of the game, has a line named "griffinTorchLimit" in it. This proves it would be used in Griffin's battle, further elaborating into what was said in its concept art.
- The sheets suggest Griffin's torch would be on fire for 27 seconds before being extinguised. This is unlike the 11th colossus' torch which is lit for a much longer time of 45 seconds.
- In the ScriptCtrlDefDEFAULT in the E3 Demo, the Griffin functions "SCRGriffinRush" and "SCRGriffinRumble" are listed, and they are used by the 11th and 14th colossi in the E3 Demo. They make the camera shake as the colossi are running.
- Many of the 14th colossus' textures seem to be recolered versions of Griffin A's textures.
- Some separate objects related to Valley exist, they are named as "valley_bush" and they go from A to C, with grass and tree textures listed.
- The fact that these objects are listed as separate models from the actual stage means they would have been affected, destroyed, or tampered with in some way during the battle, just like the pillars in the 14th colossus' arena, which are listed as separate objects for this very reason.
- Griffin is one of the few colossi to not have a volume control sheet, the others are Saru, Spider, Worm and Evis.
Gallery[]
The game | ICO ( Demo · Revisions from U.S. version · Ico HD ) | |
Characters | Ico · Yorda · The Queen · Shadows · Shinkan | |
The Castle | Idol Gates · Yorda's language · Saving Benches Altar • Warehouse • Spiral Stairs • Old Bridge • Stairs • Trolley 1 • Trolley 2 • Crane • Chandelier • Drawbridge • Main Gate • Graveyard • Dark Room • 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 | |
Other Media | Ico ~Melody in the Mist~ · Official Game Guide · Ico: Castle in the Mist |
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 Forbidden 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 · Watermellon · 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 |