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Phoenix (フェニックス Fenikkusu) is one of several unused colossi that did not make it into the final version of Shadow of the Colossus.


Appearance[]

Phoenix's final design is smaller compared to its earlier design, but was still fairly tall. The right side of its face, its wide tail and the edges of its wings were covered in magma. Its feet had two toes on the front and one toe on the back, with ridges which looked climbable. Its legs and sides of its chest were covered in fur and were likely where Wander would first climb onto the colossus.

Strategy[]

The guidebook gives information on how Phoenix had to be defeated: "Its body was wreathed in flame. You defeated it by plunging it into a lake". This indicates that Wander likely needed to drop it into a lake, extinguishing the fire blocking the path to its sigil.

In all released screenshots of Phoenix, Wander is seen riding Agro, so it can be assumed she was vital to this battle. The player would have to avoid the colossus' gusts of wind until they are able to reach it. As Phoenix's body isn't fully on fire and its legs had fur on them, Wander would have to jump from Agro to one of them and climb it from there. It's likely that, somehow, the player would have to drop it into a lake as they're flying.

Location[]

Phoenix was going to be battled in the quadrant I4, on the arena known as 'Crater'. It was initially speculated to be located at D3 due to the trees in the screenshots matching the trees seen at the 9th colossus' arena, but it was disproven when those trees were discovered to being labelled as "I4_tree" and "crater_branch" in the PSU Preview version. The tree texture listed in the Crater's sheets also matches perfectly with a tree seen in a Phoenix screenshot.

The cliff and floor textures seen in Phoenix's screenshots and the sheet data of the Crater matches with the ones in the J4 beta mountains. The sheets also list a water texture called "ud_wave", which suggests that Crater had water. Its presence can be linked to Phoenix's lake, as it needed to be plunged into it in its battle.

Trivia[]

  • Ueda stated in a french interview that he discarded Phoenix's concept because Wander would lose way too much health every time he was ejected from the colossus and that they needed to create a really large environment for it.
  • Several parameters for Phoenix still exist in the game's code[1]. They are:
    • SCRPhoenixStart
    • SCRPhoenixStartB
    • SCRPhoenixDeath
    • SCRPhoenixLandingReady
    • SCRPhoenixLanding
    • SCRPhoenixFlap
    • SCRPhoenixThreat
    • phoenixSightXZ
    • phoenixSightYZ
    • phoenixTurnAngle
    • phoenixThreatLife
    • phoenixLost
    • phoenixFlyDist
    • phoenixFlyTime
      • These corroborate Ueda's statement of the colossus producing bursts of wind from its wings like Colossus V and being a flying colossus.
      • Another curiosity is it having "Start" and "StartB". All other colossi only have one "Start" function, which is the one for their introduction cutscene. This could mean that Phoenix had two depending on the situation, like if the player came from one entrance or the other, similar to the 3rd colossus' arena having two cutscenes depending on where you enter.
  • There exists two designs of Phoenix from different stages of development; an earlier design from the time Wander wore a blue tunic and a more recent one when Wander's model was almost complete. The earlier design had a longer neck and fur all over its body, whereas the later design's neck was shorter and had less fur.
  • Screenshots depict Phoenix as having only one stone eye. The left side of its face is made of stone reliefs, including an eye, while the right side of its face appears smashed-in with magma seeping from the cracks.
  • The unused theme "Voice of the Earth" is likely to have been the intro song for reaching Phoenix's arena. The proof of this is the song's name in the debug menu of the game, which is titled "volcano".
  • The theory that Phoenix lived at I4 was originally from SpaceOmega5000 (formerly known as WWWArea). Later evidence from the data sheets helped solidify it.
  • An interview with Fumito Ueda from the December 2nd, 2005 edition of Famitsu talks about how the "Bird colossus almost completed" while referring to an image of Phoenix. This same interview is also in the artbook, but lacking the pictures linked to it in the Famitsu version, and including "Spider" in that sentence, even though it originally wasn't. The "Bird" actually referred to Phoenix, instead of the 5th colossus or even Roc like it was originally speculated.
  • On July 15th 2016, Nanako Ohmura, the field designer for the earlier incarnation of Crater, posted on her twitter an image with "several nostalgic things" according to her. Among these things, a glimpse of a battle plan for Phoenix can be noticed. Most of it is hidden, but some text can be visible, such as one that mention that the boss does three flaps while airborne.
  • In the interview section of the artbook, a few photos of papers with the images of the unused colossi can be seen. One of those appears to be for Phoenix, but only a tiny glimpse showing Agro can be observed as most of it is cut-off. When compared to the other images, none matched with this one, seemingly being an image that was not printed for the artbook.
  • According to the data sheets, Phoenix did not have a unique HUD icon, which is an icon in the shape of the colossus that used to show the weakpoint locations in early builds. Phoenix most likely used another colossus' icon, possibly the one from the 5th colossus.

Gallery[]

References[]

SotCFullTemplate
The Game Shadow of the Colossus ( Demo  · Pal Release  · Shadow of the Colossus HD  · PS4)
Characters Wander  · Agro  · Mono  · Dormin  · Lord Emon  · Guards  · Shadows
The Colossi I  · II  · III  · IV  · V · VI  · VII  · VIII  · IX  · X  · XI  · XII  · XIII  · XIV  · XV  · XVI
Unused Colossi ( Devil  · Evis  · Griffin  · Phoenix  · Roc  · Saru  · Sirius  · Spider  · Worm  · Yamori A  · Buffalo  · Quetzalcoatl)
Magic Sigil  · Hard Mode
Colossus Arenas Temple  · Proto  · Arena  · Kirin's Hill  · Canyon · Canossa  · Lakeside  · Underground  · Geyser  · Gravewind  · Leo's Cave  · Poseidon's Lake  · Desert  · Ruins  · Parthenon  · Sanctuary
Unused Arenas ( Badlands  · Cave  · Crater  · Devil's Plain  · Dune  · Hillock  · I1  · Labyrinth  · Sluice  · Stonehenge  · Valley )
The Forbidden Lands Shadow creaturesSave shrinesFruit treesWhite-tailed lizards

The Shrine of Worship
Umbral GladeStone Arch GorgeDried MarshNorthern SpanDesert FortressMisty FallsRavine EntranceHalf-moon CanyonWestern PlainRound Stone HillLair to the WestStone Bridge CliffCliff PathLair on the MesaWestern CapeArch Bridge PlainBlasted LandsAutumn ForestEastern BluffValley PlainSouthwestern CapeSouthern PlainGreen CapeThe Broken Seal

Soundtrack Roar of the Earth
Walkthrough Time AttackGolden Coins
Other media Nico  · Official artbook/guidebook  · Collectible figurines  · Film adaptation
Giantology campaign
Hoaxes Jebal-Barez skeletonTamil Nadu tsunami giantSulu Sea eel statuePolarneft conspiracySayre family vacation
Characters Eric BelsonCasper ShillingEd GuylerArkady SimkinBoris AtlasovAndrew and Ellie Sayre
Media Giantology podcasts (FirstInterview with Arkady SimkinThirdFourth) • IPICP memo
SotC Template CoverLogov2 Walkthrough
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
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