Roc (ロック Rokku) is one of many colossi that were cut during the final stages of the game. Its name is a reference to Arabic mythology.
Appearance[]
The artbook says, "Its head detail resembled that of a frilled lizard", which can be clearly seen in the screenshots. Its wings seem thin and leathery, like that of a bat. Its neck is very long, because "I actually wanted to do a long-necked bird-type."[1]
Strategy[]
Fumito Ueda stated in an interview to the French cultural magazine Chronic'art that Roc would need to be pursued with Agro, similar to the battle with the 13th colossus; "The player was supposed to chase this flying colossus on horseback and shoot it down with the bow."[2]
Roc's frills glowed, like other colossi with weakpoints (examples being the bottom of the 2nd colossus' hooves and the 9th colossus' ankles) suggesting that it may have been a weakpoint. Further evidence of this is in one of the 13th colossus' sketches, which describes the colossus' hatches as well as its early muscle-like tendon, and how they are like Roc's: "Opens and closes. Muscular. Luminous. (like Roc's weakness)"[3] This also appears to suggest that Roc's frills opened and closed, protecting its sigil in a similar way to the 13th colossus.
In its footage, Wander is seen holding his bow when the colossus dives down at him. It can be presumed that shooting Roc in the frills would make it fall, allowing the player access to its body and sigil.
Location[]
Roc was fought in a massive impact crater in an earlier version of the quadrant 'D6', called the Badlands, before the 6th colossus was moved there.
A glimpse of Roc's pillar and crater in 'D6' were found in an old picture of the 13th colossus; the discovery of which led to multiple other pieces of evidence being unearthed to confirm its location as 'D6', with the 6th colossus being originally absent from the area.[4]
An uncut version of the NICO trailer featured in the Tokyo Game Show on September 25, 2004 shows the Roc's tower and the surrounding crater-style hole in D6, proving its location once and for all.[5]
Trivia[]
- A Shadow of the Colossus trailer originating from a rare promo dvd titled 'WANDA.Title 1' shows a short clip of the battle with Roc, in which Wander is seen riding Agro while the colossus attacks from above.[6] The trailer date is 24th August 2004.
- To date, Roc is the only unused colossus to be seen in video footage as opposed to development screenshots.
- Ueda stated Roc was cut because of issues with collision detection.[2] Evidence for this can be seen in the Roc footage, since Roc clips through the ground when it dives down to attack him.
- An old clip taken from an early trailer of the game, which depicted Wander walking through the E5 forest passage to the desert, revealed that the 6th colossus' mountain was mysteriously absent from the area at the time, and in its place was the big rock seen in the screenshot of Roc sitting on the pillar.[7]
- An extended version of the same trailer from TGS 2004 shows Roc's tower and its crater in D6, as discovered by the fan known as Aith.[5]
- The complete model for Roc's tail was discovered in an early Dormin model from the E3 Demo version of the game.
- A page from the issue #285 of the Dengeki Playstation magazine shows an edit of Roc seemingly at D6, its former location.[8]
- It is likely that Roc was made using the rejected archetypical colossus known as "Kubinaga", as Roc is referred as such by Ueda in the artbook.[1]
- Roc was originally speculated to have been located at 'B3' due to a comparison between the Roc screenshots and the low-resolution image of the 'B3' quadrant as seen from above revealing supposed similarities in their geometry. It was found out years later to have been nothing but a coincidence when it was discovered that Yamori A lived in that quadrant.[9]
- According to the data sheets, Roc 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. Roc most likely used another colossus' icon, possibly being the one from the 5th colossus.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.glitterberri.com/content/ico_series/sotc/artbook/196.jpg | Artbook page 195 translated by Glitterberri.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:French%2Barticle%2Btranslated_800.jpg | Chronic'art Interview.
- ↑ https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:Phalanx2.jpg | Colossus XIII sketch.
- ↑ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vSpDo5699u4K4XgvtGUWkx59DsIN4s8iVjIbmOQNOwE/edit#heading=h.kr34gekgy7nb | Compilation of evidence found by the Stage 0 Team in order to prove Roc's location.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.ign.com/videos/2004/09/25/shadow-of-the-colossus-ps2-story-trailer-with-live-music | Story trailer with live music.
- ↑ https://youtu.be/ILdH5jTorLc?t=113 | Rare promo disc.
- ↑ https://youtu.be/M194Fe3vFFw | E5 pathway.
- ↑ https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:D_roc.png | Dengeki Playstation magazine issue #285.
- ↑ https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:SluiceB3Summary.png | Summary of most of the evidence linking B3 to Yamori A, by Aith.
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 |